Destiknee Place founder hoping to open halfway house for women coming out of Polk jail with no place to go.

BARTOW — Terry Cordell is trying to do better.

The 46-year-old has chosen to surround herself with like-minded women who want to learn about responsibility, good communication, job skills, problem-solving and a positive attitude.

On Friday, she graduated from the Tackling Tough Skills program, proudly showing her certificate in a line with her fellow graduates at the Polk County Jail.

“I mostly enjoyed the attitude and anger prevention part. It can be used in any relationship,” Cordell said. “I had an anger problem, and she taught us to pause and think about the issue.”

Cordell was one of 14 women to graduate from the course sponsored by Destiknee Place, a nonprofit organization that mentors inmates, and one of about 40 living in a special dorm at the jail.

“We hold them to a higher standard,” said Linda Houghton, lead detention counselor at the Polk County Jail, who has worked tirelessly to help women inmates. “There’s no swearing, no violence, no threats of violence. They’re also more compassionate.”

Destinee Place was started by Myra Roundtree to help women such as Cordell, who need guidance on how to live right and to give them hope that they can accomplish that goal. Her inspiration to help the women, many of whom have addiction issues, came after watching her husband wrestle with a cocaine addiction for 20 years.

“He was a man with many talents and gifts — he could fix anything. He was such a strong, handsome individual, and it took away everything,” Roundtree said. “He wound up having a heart attack. The autopsy said acute cocaine intoxication. He was found dead in his apartment.

In 2008, she started the nonprofit, and she has been mentoring inmates.

Destiknee Place is one of several nonprofit and faith-based organizations that try to guide inmates onto the right path in Polk County. Other groups include Alcoholics Anonymous, Family Integrity Training, Life Recovery, and Champion for Inmates. Several volunteers with Youth For Christ have racked up the most volunteer hours at the jail, with at least 700 hours in the juvenile detention facility this year.

Lisa Wilson, 40, dropped out of Winter Haven High School when she was in the ninth grade to take care of her alcoholic mother, who died of cirrhosis of the liver when Wilson was 18. She was in jail Friday on violation of probation and violation of house arrest charges. She said she had been living in a truck with her boyfriend, who is also in jail now, or a tent in Eloise. She said Destiknee’s Place has given her hope.

“It’s helping me find myself, and know I am worth something,” Wilson said. “That I can get a job, get my own place, be independent and take care of myself. I’m not as scared as I was. Or hopeless.”

She said the women in the "God-centered" dorm pray together and cry together. She is grateful right now to have a comparatively safe place to sleep, food to eat and to be able to take a shower — even if it is the jail. But Wilson worries about where she will live when a judge grants her her freedom.

It’s an issue many women struggle with when they come out of the jail — most clean and sober for weeks or months. For some, the only place is back with their drug-using family or neighbors, abusive husbands or boyfriends, or into homeless camps in the woods — many of which are populated by drug and alcohol abusers. For others, they actually have no place to go at all, which makes it difficult to adhere to house-arrest when they have no fixed address.

Houghton said there are very few halfway houses for women in Polk and surrounding counties to help them transition to independent living. Most are substance-abuse treatment facilities, the cost of which can be covered if the women are sent there through a court order. They include:

• RASUW Center for Women in Bartow.

• New Beginnings for Women in Bartow.

• The Bridge in Auburndale.

• Faith Farm in Boynton Beach.

• Justin’s Place in Tampa.

• Talbot House.

• Lighthouse Ministries.

• Troxel House for Women, which also houses children with their mothers, but they don't take women directly from jail or prison.

“There is a great need for housing and rehabilitation facilities for inmates after release,” Houghton said. “Some leave jail without a place to go or a healthy and supportive environment where they can live. The first step outside of the jail is often among the most important. Too often, an inmate who resolves to receive help while they are in custody can fail to stay sober or stay away from bad influences, or adopt a previous lifestyle after release. For this reason, it is very important for inmates to go directly to a safe environment, free of drugs and harmful influences.”

There are currently more than 520 female inmates at the jail. Most don’t even know to ask for housing help when they get out, or they are simply handed a list of shelters — with little guidance as to how to get in, or how to get there if they are accepted. Houghton said there is no one at the jail tasked with helping inmates with transitional housing. It’s something she hopes to do as a volunteer after she retires in January.

Roundtree also worries about where women with no support system will go. She is hoping to start a halfway house for women who are truly trying to get their life in order but have no help.

“We need a re-entry program to give these ladies a second chance,” Roundtree said, adding that Destiknee Place supplies clothing and toiletries, along with a mentoring program. But it’s hard. “They need a place to lay their head, and they’re comfortable and not worrying about where they’re going to stay. ... I have referred them to different places, and most places are full.”

Roundtree is hoping for grants or even a donated home.

“I know that God is going to provide,” Roundtree said.

Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802-7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.