Riverview Women's Prison Still on Chopping Block

Supporters of Hillsborough Correctional Institute are still holding out hope that the faith- and character-based women's prison in Riverview won't be shut down by the state.

But a Florida Department of Corrections official says even though the prison's closure, originally slated for last week, has been pushed back to July 1, it's still going to happen, TBO.com reports.

"It's still closing," corrections department spokeswoman Ann Howard told the news site, declining to say how many of the female inmates had been transferred to other facilities or how many of the prison's 115 workers were transferring.

Many of the more than 400 local residents who serve as volunteers, mentors and teachers at the prison at 11150 County Rd. 672 . Bloomingdale's Minnette Webster, who began a popular arts program there nine years ago, is one of them.

"I'm just devastated," Webster told Patch in January. "It's just awful. The girls are very depressed."

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and ministry workers from the Diocese of St. Petersburg have spoken in opposition of closing the prison, a move that would save about $8.3 million a year, TBO.com reports.