$500K Grant for National Ex-Offenders Program Awarded to Society of St. Vincent de Paul
National program to help reintegrate ex-offenders into the community
PR Newswire
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2013
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) has received a $500,000 grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops-Catholic Campaign for Human Development (USCCB-CCHD) for a national program to help reintegrate ex-offenders into the community. This is the first national grant by USCCB-CCHD.
SVdP's program is titled National Ex-Offender Re-Entry Program, and the grant is subject for renewal up to five years, for a total of $2.5 million. SVdP will administer the grant and hire a national project coordinator. The grant will involve those chapters of the Society that have an existing prison outreach program and will focus initially on the following areas: Orlando, Fla.; Cincinnati, Ohio; New Orleans, La.; Boston, Mass.; and Milwaukee, Wis.
"We're grateful to the Catholic bishops' Campaign for Human Development because we believe this program offers a much more promising outcome for helping people who emerge from prison to become productive citizens again," said Dave Barringer, chief executive officer of SVdP. "Men and women who come out of prison are at great risk of falling into poverty. Employers may be reluctant to hire them, landlords may be wary of taking them as tenants, and they often struggle to re-establish relationships with their families."
Barringer said a unique feature of the program is the combination of approaches to the issue: the Society's face-to-face meeting to identify basic needs and create a plan to succeed, partnered with a community-organizing model. As the ex-offenders make their way through the program, the expectation is that they will take on leadership positions, particularly as role models and mentors to those coming into the program behind them.
"The program may look a bit different in each community, but we will be documenting our successes and challenges so we can identify successful features that can be replicated," said Barringer. "The ultimate goal is to increase the odds for ex-offenders to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life."
SVdP's program is titled National Ex-Offender Re-Entry Program, and the grant is subject for renewal up to five years, for a total of $2.5 million. SVdP will administer the grant and hire a national project coordinator. The grant will involve those chapters of the Society that have an existing prison outreach program and will focus initially on the following areas: Orlando, Fla.; Cincinnati, Ohio; New Orleans, La.; Boston, Mass.; and Milwaukee, Wis.
"We're grateful to the Catholic bishops' Campaign for Human Development because we believe this program offers a much more promising outcome for helping people who emerge from prison to become productive citizens again," said Dave Barringer, chief executive officer of SVdP. "Men and women who come out of prison are at great risk of falling into poverty. Employers may be reluctant to hire them, landlords may be wary of taking them as tenants, and they often struggle to re-establish relationships with their families."
Barringer said a unique feature of the program is the combination of approaches to the issue: the Society's face-to-face meeting to identify basic needs and create a plan to succeed, partnered with a community-organizing model. As the ex-offenders make their way through the program, the expectation is that they will take on leadership positions, particularly as role models and mentors to those coming into the program behind them.
"The program may look a bit different in each community, but we will be documenting our successes and challenges so we can identify successful features that can be replicated," said Barringer. "The ultimate goal is to increase the odds for ex-offenders to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life."
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