ERCPCP Re-entry Program
" CSOSA Faith Based Reintegration Initiative"
Multi-denominational, Faith-Based institutions throughout the Washington DC area have collaborated with the District’s Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, (CSOSA), to implement an innovative and compassionate initiative. The initiative is designed to provide reintegration services for participating ex-offenders returning to the community once released from incarceration. These services are designed to support and enhance the participant’s successful re-reentry into the community. This program bridges the gap between prison and community by welcoming the ex-offender home and helping him or her get started with a new life.
During the early stages of this initiative, mentoring will be the primary focus. The Mentoring Initiative links offenders with concerned members of the faith community who offer support, friendship, and assistance during the difficult period of re-entry. During the transition from prison to neighborhood, returning ex-offenders can be overwhelmed by large and small problems. Participating ex-offenders, called “mentees”, are matched with a volunteer mentor from one of the participating faith-based institutions.
The philosophy of mentoring is to build strong moral values and provide positive role models for ex-offenders returning to our communities through coaching and spiritual guidance. Mentors will also help identify linkages to varied community resources that will assist in the growth and development of mentees.
Additional faith-based institution services may range from employment training and placement; housing, literacy training, life skills training, substance abuse intervention, social and leisure activities, food, clothing or assistance with any of the day-to-day hurdles that must be overcome as ex-offenders return from prison to the community.
Background and Statistics: Estimates reveal that approximately 200,000 inmates will complete their sentencing and be released from US prisons each year. It is anticipated that nearly 2500 will return to Washington DC communities.
Men and women returning from prison will join families and communities that do not have the information, resources or capacity to function sufficiently in the process of ex-offender rehabilitation. Mayor Anthony Williams called this program an “important demonstration of support for our neighbors, friends, relatives, acquaintances and fellow DC residents to help them transition into living productive lives. More generally, successful reintegration of ex-offenders is also crucial to enhancing public safety in the District,” he said. President George Bush said…” Too often, inmates leave prison unprepared to take on responsible roles in their communities and they frequently lack the support needed to do so. If we want ex-offenders to stay out of prison, we must support those programs that are successful in transforming the lives of former inmates.”
q Qualifications: To be sincere and committed to the role of mentor by exhibiting common sense, intelligence, friendliness, maturity, sensitivity and responsibility.
q Training required: Successful completion of the Faith-Based Mentoring Training Program.
q Time required: At least monthly, and probably more frequently. The schedule of meetings will depend on what you and your mentee decide.
There are three (3) Clusters included in the Faith Based Reintegration Initiative. ERCPCP serves as the lead organization in Cluster "A" which represents all participating organizations east of the Anacostia river.
The following link is a podcast from the “DC Public Safety” series of radio and television programs featuring a mentor in CSOSA’s faith-based outreach to inmates returning to the District from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The mentor and her mentee are discussing the realities of mentoring and returning to life after prison. http://media.csosa.gov. Click on audio podcasts.
How Programs in Three Cities Responded to the Prisoner Reentry Crisis
Call to Action chronicles how individuals, community organizations, faith institutions, businesses and officials mobilized to build partnerships to address escalating numbers of ex-prisoners returning to their communities. The three cities highlighted in this report from Public/Private Ventures, Jacksonville, FL; Memphis, TN; and Washington, D.C., were pioneers in responding to the nation's prisoner reentry crisis. They developed impressive programs and eventually joined P/PV's Ready4Work initiative.
http://weeklydigest.c.topica.com/maaf5UhabxnB9bIOqRVbafpKjv/
If you are interested in participating in the FBRI with Cluster "A" please contact:
Gable Barmer – Deputy Director of Programs
gable_barmer@yahoo.com
(202) 373-5767
Antonio Lowery - Cluster "A" Coordinator
Combined Federal Campaign Designation Number
31960
East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, Inc.
4105 First Street, SE · Washington, DC 20032 · (202) 373-5767 phone · (202) 373-5769 fax
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