Female Ex-Offender Reentry and Enrichment Services

P O B o x 3 5 2 0 2 C l e v e l a n d , O H 4 4 1 3 5

Cleveland, OH

Program Overview

April 2014

April 2014

Visit us at www.LifeRestoredInc.org

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Our Mission:

Life Restored, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Cleveland, Ohio with a core mission to help women and girls break the cycle of entrapment in the criminal justice

system and to maximize their potential of becoming enduring assets to their communities.

Welcome!

We’d like to express our sincere thanks for your interest in Life Restored, Inc. We hope

that you find this overview to be informative and that it will inspire you to consider

becoming a part of an effort that will help hundreds of women within the Greater

Cleveland area recreate their lives after being incarcerated.

Our gender-responsive services focus on the unique needs of reintegrating

females. Whether they are in need of a safe and stable place to live, resources to

help them reunify with their children and gain employment or maybe just someone to

support and encourage them while they work through restoring the pieces of

their lives... That's our mission!

We are committed to providing long-standing mentorship for our participants as they

progress along their journeys to self-sufficiency and a crime-free lifestyle.

Prayerfully, you are as excited as we are about our agenda! We are here to answer

any questions you may have regarding our agenda. Also, you will find more

information and resourceful links at our website. (www.LifeRestoredInc.org)

We look forward to being of service.

Deirdre Bryant

Founder/Executive Director

April 2014


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Coming home to stay is not an easy task for some

females who are returning home from prison. In

fact, the barriers and obstacles can often seem

impossible to overcome. Whether those barriers

stem from civil criminal sanctions or just the

reality of society’s views on criminal offenders, the

journey from prison to home is often filled with

discouragement and a sense of hopelessness.

The following provides a list of barriers presented

to females upon reintegration into their

communities after incarceration:

Finding employment Lack of education and life/work skills Admission to public and other housing Social security benefits, veterans’ benefits,

food stamps, and other forms of public and financial assistance,

Receiving financial assistance for advanced training and education

Access to adequate substance abuse, mental health, and other medical care.

Civic and political participation limitations Lack of emotional , spiritual, and social

support

In addition to some of the challenges mentioned above, youth females reintegrating will also be presented with obstacles relating to: Negative peer pressure Issues with parents or caregivers Lack of family involvement and/or support Lack of mentorship Learning disorders Lack of healthy decision making skills

Moreover, many of the females reentering after incarceration are likely to have children in care of temporary custodians who were assigned as a

result of the mother’s sentencing. Therefore, it is imperative that formerly incarcerated mothers are equipped with the necessary life skills and core competencies needed to provide excellent parental care for their children. While these challenges are genuine, at Life Restored, Inc. we believe they are not insoluble. With the emotional, spiritual and financial support of community members, agencies and families we can provide the help needed for each female to face these barriers head on and overcome them. Coming home to stay is not easy… but it’s certainly not impossible.

OUR OBJECTIVES

To provide a clean, safe, and sober-living environment for formerly incarcerated adult females.

To offer practical reentry services and support to adult and youth females that will cause a reduction in recidivism.

To offer spiritual support to our participants through Biblical studies and casual Christian fellowship.

To provide mentorship and case management in order to closely monitor and service the needs of our participants.

To act as a conduit to other community resources that will provide skill-building and educational opportunities to our participants.

To involve family and community members into the reintegration process as soon and often as possible.

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OUR VALUES

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV)

The poor and disenfranchised must be supported with love and fair treatment

Everyone deserves a second chance to reach their maximum potential

Everyone should have access to effective and efficient community resources that will help them live self-sufficient and crime free lives.

When appropriate alcohol and/or substance abuse treatment better serves the individual and society as opposed to incarceration.

Community mentorship can help people realize their dreams and reshape their lives

“SheReads” Reading Program – We provide Christian and inspirational books to women who are incarcerated. The readings we provide are pre-selected and are intended to address matters of the heart that are the root causes of negative behaviors.

“ShePals” Encouraging Penpals – We send letters of encouragement to women in prison that were written by positive women in the community.

Supportive Housing – We will allow each of our adult participants to reside at our safe, clean, and sober living facility.

Document Recovery – We will assist each participant in recovery important documentation that is needed in order to help them recreate their lives. Such as: Photo IDs Birth certificates SSN cards Credit reports Voter’s registration Criminal records Child support orders

Sobriety Support – During this phase of our

plan, we will refer our clients to other reputable and effective community agencies that specialize in alcohol and substance abuse treatment. In addition, we’ll host regular Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous at our facility in order to assist our clients in their journey through sobriety.

Clothing – We will solicit clothing donations from businesses and individuals to provide a clothing “closet” for our participants.

Self-Improvement workshops – We will

provide courses on leadership skills, financial literacy, problem solving, making good decisions, setting goals, building and maintaining healthy relationships.

Personal Voice Mail – This function will allow

the participant to receive personal messages from family and potential employers.

Christian Fellowship – Weekly Christian fellowship workshops and services will be provided to each participant at will. This includes Christian support groups, Bible studies, outings, and other activities that will provide spiritual support to our participants.

GED Sponsorship and Tutoring – We will

recruit volunteers from local colleges and high schools in order to provide private tutoring to participants who are pursuing educational training. (I.e. GED, high school diploma, college placement tests, etc.)

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CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO

Website: www.LifeRestoredInc.org

Mailing Address:

PO Box 35202 Cleveland, OH 44135

E- Mail:

[email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LifeRestoredIncReentryServices

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Reentry4Women

The clients of Life Restored, Inc. will consist of female offenders, at least 18 years of age, currently

serving at least a 6 months sentence in an Ohio based correctional institution, reintegrating to the

City of Cleveland, OH, who are able to function independently, and who were homeless prior to

incarceration or likely to become homeless upon release.

We are also open to providing services for recently released females as resources are available.

Female Ex-Offender Reentry and Enrichment Services

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