August 28 / 2015
When Metals Fab welder and fitter Alicia Doney was serving time at Pine Lodge women’s prison in Medical Lake, she could see Martin Hall, a juvenile detention facility, nearby. And she’d wonder about the kids inside. After her release in 2010, she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe – just maybe – she could do something to help them. So Doney and some friends from church founded an organization called “The Landing” to do just that.
What began as the simple act of providing Christmas presents five years ago has turned into weekly visits and active participation programs. “They’re just kids,” she explains, “and they need help making the right decisions.” It’s something Doney is uniquely qualified to do – and something she’s never thought twice about. “Some are here for truancy, some for drugs, others for more serious offenses,” she says. “Whatever they did, I’m there to show them that it’s not what defines them. That there’s another way.”