New York’s Department of Corrections has opened a wellness center for guards on Rikers — including a “serenity room,” a gym and business center — in an ongoing push to help COs live more healthfully.
The space is located in Otis Bantum Correctional Center, where 800 uniformed staff work. The Department of Corrections is planning to open similar centers at other facilities on Rikers, according to a news release.
“Having these resources available to them on-island will better support our staff’s physical and emotional health and ensure they have increased opportunities to receive valuable training,” said NYC Department of Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie in the release.
The gym features a full-service range of exercise equipment, the business center is set up with computers, and the serenity room offers a quiet space to decompress after stressful incidents, jail officials said.
“Our staff are our greatest resource. Investing in them is investing in safe jails,” Maginley-Liddie said.
Correction Officer Christopher Curry, 40, said the business center gives him a place to check his email at the jail and the meditation room helps to calm him both after his two-hour commute from Long Island and while working his shifts in the notoriously violent jail.
“I can go in there and gather my thoughts and feel at ease and calm,” said Curry, who appreciates the white noise machine and calm lighting. “They have stress balls. They have a special seat that aligns your spine. They have motivational art work. They have a lamp with a very warm light.”
The gym has been helping Curry, who has a 14-month old and a 3-year-old, make time to work out.
“Its like a Life Time Fitness type of gym,” he said of the facility with brand new weight and cardio equipment. “I feel myself getting healthier.”
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