“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1
Opportunities for After-Care Ministry
Time & Talents, In Support of Ministry to Former Inmates
- Mentoring
- Meet inmate at the gate after release, possibly with clothes they can wear
- Job assistance and training
- Establish your church as a Jobs for Life site, to help newly-released inmates in your community find jobs, keep jobs, and build a full life.
- Substance abuse treatment
- Support groups
- Education/GED support
- Counseling
- Support for whole family during re-entry transition
- Church family
- Champion Koinonia House® National Ministries “Meet Me at the Gate®” program in your church.
- Friendship
- Advocate for these needs at church and government levels
Resources
- Restorative Justice Community Resource Directory of support services for offender reentry/after-care, reentry networks organized by state
Financial Support, Providing for the Needs of Former Inmates & Their Families
- Start-up supplies
- Temporary and long-term housing
- Food/food baskets
- Clothes, specifically dress clothes for job interviews
- Give a shirt, get a shirt with Prison Fellowship’s “Forgive, Don’t Forget” Campaign – When you get a Prison Fellowship t-shirt, your donation goes toward providing a quality dress shirt and tie for an ex-prisoner to wear to a job interview.
- Gift cards to specific stores, i.e. Kohl’s, Kroger (many grocery stores do not allow gift cards to be used for alcohol purchases, but confirm with store if concerned)
Transition Program Models (Halfway Houses, Residential Program, Post-Prison Ministry)
- Koinonia House National Ministries, Wheaton, IL (koinoniahouse.org)
“Wheaton Man Helps Ex-Cons Readjust to the Outside,” Daily Hearald, December 12, 2010
(www.dailyherald.com/article/20101218/news/712199995/) - Mission Gate Prison Ministry, St. Louis, MO (www.missiongateministry.org)
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