New Community

Mission: to develop leaders who advocate for holistic justice and human rights, attending especially to the needs of women and young people. Vision: to build upon the strengths of those most affected by injustice so that together we can create a new community of citizens working toward well-being in our families, neighborhoods, and country.We are faced with these facts: 2.3 million people are in prison and another 5.5 million under justice system control; the fastest growing prison populations are women and youth; former inmates have severe difficulty finding good housing and jobs and reuniting their families; and most come from and return to our poorest communities. In Ohio, reentry is concentrated in Cleveland. The effects of incarceration are devastating to families, neighborhoods, and local economies. In the face of these conditions, we have dedicated ourselves to stabilizing women and men while they are in prison, and now we are growing our mentoring programs for those who have been released. We have found that the finest advocates and teachers for these programs are people who have been in prison. As a result, we have developed a Board that consists of former inmates as well as community justice workers. We offer a holistic, eight-point approach to restoration:Pre-Release Education * intensive, trauma-based social training * inmate and peer mentoring *therapeutic partnershipsPrison Staff Development *training on trauma and mental healthRe-entry Support *social service partnerships *workforce development *recovery groups, trauma groups *medical and therapeutic connectionsChild and Family Support *after-school activities *support and education for caregivers *community service system partnersResearch and Evaluation *documentation of inmate mental and social well-being *evidence-based interventions *information-sharing on justice issuesCommunity Training *teacher training, trauma-based courses *crisis intervention trainingAdvocacy *online community and voices from prison *content research and resource links *position papersSpiritual Direction *Ongoing mentoring relationships during incarceration and after reentry.