On February 16, the Department of Labor presented a conference call on grant opportunities, hosted by Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates. Nearly 1,000 individuals signed up to participate. The Department of Labor has made available the information and Web links discussed on that call.
People often have “come to Jesus” moments in times of crisis, like while lying in a hospital bed with a critical illness or while holding on for dear life during an earthquake. These moments can instantly illuminate the frailty and brevity of life, causing a sudden realization of our dependence on God.
Ten years ago, touched by the need for Spanish-speaking volunteers in Arizona prisons, Maria Marin responded to a call from Prison Fellowship. But she still had some reservations. She remembers telling the Lord, “I will go willingly into the women’s prison, but please don’t send me to the men’s prison!”
People often have “come to Jesus” moments in times of crisis, like while lying in a hospital bed with a critical illness or while holding on for dear life during an earthquake. These moments can instantly illuminate the frailty and brevity of life, causing a sudden realization of our dependence on God.
Alone in his cell one night, Mark Downs wondered if anyone cared whether he lived or died.
The answer eventually came through a dedicated Prison Fellowship Bible study leader, who showed Mark through Scripture that Jesus loved him and would always be with him.
Since 1985 the population of female prisoners has risen at nearly double the rate of males. Because women prisoners have historically been few, however, corrections policy has often not taken gender-specific needs into account. But over time, it has become increasingly obvious that female prisoners have different needs than men.
Amber has been volunteering for Angel Tree® for many years. She coordinates the program in her local church, purchases gifts, and delivers the gifts to families in her area. The single mother of four children admits that it’s not always easy.
Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank visited Prison Fellowship’s Virginia headquarters in October for a special screening of her new film, Conviction. Following the sneak preview, Swank chatted with Prison Fellowship and a live audience about wrongful convictions and the role churches can play in advocating for reform.
Chris Cleveland smoked his first joint at age 12. He remembers because that year his father and mother finally divorced.
Two-time Academy Award winner and producer Hilary Swank visited Prison Fellowship to join a panel talk about the importance of faith in prisoners’ lives and the role of the local church in justice reform.
Tom Maxwell, a long-time Prison Fellowship volunteer, points to the partially constructed gazebo on the grounds of the community hospital in Boonville, Missouri, as work-release prisoners from the nearby Boonville Correctional Center move nimbly across the gazebo’s roof, adding tar paper and shingles.
No snitching. Keep to yourself. Don’t trust people. Mind your own business. These are just some of a long list of understood rules in prison culture, according to Sam Dye, national program director for the InnerChange Freedom Initiative®(IFI), a values-based reentry program developed by and affiliated with Prison Fellowship.
Over the next year, 650,000 prisoners will be released across the United States. And, unfortunately, their likelihood of returning to prison is high—unless someone steps in to help them out.
Bridge churches around the country are taking on that role. A bridge church, according to Prison Fellowship® Executive Director Mark Hubbell, is a church that’s “passionate about ministering to former prisoners.”
Of the 23 million veterans in the United States today, an estimated 140,000 are in prison or jail. And many veterans—imprisoned or not—are unaware of the help available to them.
Did you know, for example, that in recent years, Congress has expanded many benefits for veterans, including disability, pensions, and health care, while easing eligibility requirements?