The Pasco Sheriff's Office Detention Support Services Unit has begun a sewing program aimed at providing a vocational skill to inmates while cutting overhead costs. The program recovers cracked and torn mattresses and makes in-house repairs. In the past, these items were thrown away and replaced with new ones.

The program was instituted in October 2008 and to date, 50 mattresses, 100 pillows, and 232 pillowcases made from scrap materials have been recovered providing an initial estimated savings of $2,054. Expansion of the sewing program is expected to grow into the making of sheets, which will be an additional cost savings. The average annual savings can exceed $8,000 for the estimated annual replacement of 6,000 sheets and pillowcases.

The Detention Support Service Unit also sells the wooden delivery pallets acquired by the Land O'Lakes jail and is beginning to sell cardboard bales (half-ton compressed cardboard shaped into a box and tied with metal fasteners) as well. Total pallet sales during the 2008 calendar year were $4,271. Pallets are sold based upon market price.

Above: Inmate sewing a pillowcase