Capital Region Ex-Offenders Support Coalition (CRESC)
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Reentry Spotlight: The RASE Project

6/9/2017

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The RASE Project is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit, charitable organization. RASE is a Recovery Community Organization, which means that it is comprised entirely of staff and volunteers from the Recovery Community and it exists to serve the Recovery Community. Recovery Community is defined as: any person in, or seeking recovery, their families, close friends and other loved ones. The RASE Project stands for Recovery, Advocacy, Service and Empowerment, and exists to reduce the stigma associated with the disease of addiction as well as offering support in the process of recovery. Our mission is to assist all those individuals affected by substance use issues, problems and concerns by fostering progress, enriching lives, and ultimately enhancing the recovery process.

We offer multiple programs that all work closely with the criminal justice system. In particular, we have full-time Recovery Specialists that work hand in hand with Dauphin County’s Drug Court Program. Participants in the Recovery Specialist Program are paired with a Recovery Specialist who works side by side with them as peer support and a recovery coach. We offer recovery service planning unique to our agency. The RSP facilitates change and instills hope. We are dedicated to helping others build self-esteem, increase good decision making skills, re-build families and empower participants to become productive and active members of society. The RASE Project believes that every individual is unique and special and deserves the opportunity to recover. Referrals for the RSP go directly to our Lebanon office. For more information on the RSP or to schedule an intake please call 717-277-7400.

In addition to the RSP, RASE offers residential services for men and women. This transitional housing program includes individuals in the criminal justice system. We ask for a minimum commitment of 6 months so these individuals can recreate their lives free from active addiction. Each house has its own Residential Coordinator. RASE House programming is designed to assist each resident achieve the following objectives: sustained recovery, permanent full-time employment, understanding and possession of bank accounts, and the necessary skills needed to navigate through life successfully. RASE House encourages the residents to reach these objectives by utilizing the following tools: daily 12-Step meeting attendance, weekly Recovery 101 groups, weekly Life Skills classes, appropriate referral to necessary ancillary services, recovery plan development, house meetings, supervision and weekly contacts. We believe that it is essential for the residents at RASE House to examine all aspects of their lives and to replace old negative behaviors with new positive ones to achieve ongoing recovery and success. For more information on The Harrisburg RASE House please call 717-232-8535, for the Carlisle RASE House call 717-249-6499 and for the Lancaster RASE House call 717-295-3080. Please note that the Harrisburg and Carlisle RASE Houses are for women and Lancaster is for men.

For more information about The RASE Project, visit their website at 
http://www.raseproject.org/
CRESC thanks The RASE Project for their tireless efforts to support recovery throughout ex-offender reentry into the community!
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Reentry Spotlight: New Digs Ministry, Inc.

6/4/2017

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What do you think of when you hear the term “new digs”? A new house? A fresh place to call home? A recent change in residence? That’s what Ginny Jones, the Founder and Executive Director of New Digs Ministry, Inc. thought of back in 2007. Ginny had a dream of creating a place where individuals with mental health problems could receive home furnishings for their residence, completely free.

What brought about this dream? Ginny knew first-hand how difficult it was for a person receiving mental services to be able to afford any kind of home furnishings, as she is the mother of an autistic daughter. As her daughter grew older and was ready to live in her own apartment, one without any support services, she would receive only about $600.00 per month to cover all of her living expenses. Ginny saw how this small monetary income severely limited the things that her daughter and her friends could afford to outfit a new home.

So, what did Ginny do? She started collecting furniture that she saw discarded along the roadside and storing it on her front porch. As you can image, her collection quickly outgrew her allotted space, so a friend recommended her seek out storage space at Mission Central. The staff there was extremely supportive of Ginny’s mission, giving her a dozen pallets to store her finds. In January of 2007, “New Digs” was the official name of Ginny’s dream. Word spread quickly across the children’s mental health network in Cumberland and Dauphin counties, causing her to seek out more space and more help. In no time at all, a Board of Directors was formed and Ginny’s mission became New Digs Ministry, Inc.

Today, New Digs has been fortunate enough to expand and assist a variety of different people in need, from those that are recovering from physical losses, such as fires or floods, to those starting over from rehabilitation, prison, domestic violence shelters, and so on. New Digs works on a referral system from clergy members, hospital staff and other community organizations. Most recently, the ministry has received the most referrals for U.S. Veterans returning from combat and working through rehabilitation or recovering from hospitals.

New Digs fills a need to assist those who are disadvantaged when making life’s most sensitive decisions. Starting over is never easy for anyone, but those with limited assets will find it most challenging.

We are prepared to receive, store, and issue materials that are required to “move in.” Limited funds make it difficult to start over. Our collected materials will be made available to those in need without consideration to the ability to meet any financial obligations. The materials are received through free donations, and the materials are distributed in the same fashion.

The most desirable method of receiving the materials is to have our friends of New Digs transport the materials to our warehouse that is located within Mission Central. The folks at Mission Central of 5 Pleasant View Drive in Mechanicsburg have graciously donated storage space to New Digs. However, there may be times when the delivery is not feasible. In those cases, folks may contact our Missions Coordinator (Ginny Jones) to make arrangements to have the materials moved to Mission Central.

Our recipients all come to us by way of the appropriate agencies. Some of those agencies are New Hope Ministries, Cumberland and Dauphin County MR/MR, Children and Youth, local churches, and others that might recognize the special needs of our citizens. Since we have limited capability, we will regard this method of selection of recipients and no other can be accepted at this time.  A representative of the requesting agency will be required to contact us. This will insure that we have a need to fulfill, and reduce the communications problems that sometimes occur when crossing agencies.

To learn more about New Digs Ministry, Inc., check out their website at http://newdigsministry.org/.

CRESC thanks New Digs Ministry, Inc. for their generous support of successful ex-offender reentry into the community!

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New Website Provides One-Stop Shop For Veteran Services, Programs

6/1/2017

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WRIGHTSVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) – Veterans came out to the Wrightsville American Legion Post 469 Thursday morning to learn more about a one-stop-shop website.

“We’re unveiling a new network that veterans can go on the Internet and look up benefits that are due to them and how to get their benefits,” said Rep. Stan Saylor, (R-York County).

“I can think of something today and go to that website and find the answer,” said Kurtis Timmer, commander of the post.

“Network of Care” has a new database of federal, state, and local services for veterans. It includes everything from programs and services to job boards.

“Whether it’s housing issues, job issues, whatever it is, they can go on that website, and that website will help direct them to the resources they need to get the help they need,” Saylor said.

“Usually when you come back, there’s a lot of things you may have been briefed when you leave the service, but you’re not going to remember all those things because you’re focused on going back home to your loved ones,” Timmer said.

The website consolidates information on services for veterans, such as housing, health care, crisis services, and a library with 30,000 articles.

“Many times there’s so many resources out there today, and no body knows which resources are accurate, which resources are really going to be helpful to me,” Saylor said.

The website has been around for decades but is just making its way into Pennsylvania.

Visit ​http://veterans.networkofcare.org/ for more information.

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Reentry Spotlight: Genesis House, Inc.

5/31/2017

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The Genesis House, Inc. was established in May of 1985 and began providing substance abuse counseling to adults and adolescents in Lycoming County. In our 30 years of operation we have expanded by adding four additional locations that serve the Columbia, Montour, Dauphin/Northern Dauphin, Cumberland, York, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill, and Northumberland Counties. In addition we have expanded our counseling services to include Co-Occurring disorder, Gambling, and Trauma counseling.
 
Our office provides assessments, training, intervention, family/couples/ individual counseling, intensive outpatient counseling, and groups. Our treatment philosophy is to provide individualize treatment and clinically appropriate services that will assist the individual and the family in treating all components  of substance use disorder and Co-Occurring disorders. Our Dedicated staff mission is to alleviate the symptoms as rapidly as possible, and assist in the transformation of the lives of those individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder and co-occurring disorder though the use of evidence based treatment strategies and personalized holistic services. We provide a path of wellness and recovery to improve the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health of individuals and families. By visiting our website at www.genesishouseoutpatient.com, you may click on the location for service and read the biography of each counselor and their specialty.  
 
The Genesis House has offices in Williamsport, Bloomsburg, Harrisburg, and Elizabethville, PA. For admissions please contact 717-232-6981.

CRESC thanks Genesis House, Inc. for their ongoing support of successful ex-offender reentry into the community!

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A new resource for low income members of our community: Comcast Internet Essentials

9/6/2011

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Please spread the word:

Comcast has announced that it will begin offering a new service, Internet Essentials, in time for the 2011-12 school year. This initiative will directly address the major barriers that many in our communities face for in-home broadband adoption: affordability and lack of digital literacy.

In today's world, it is important for everyone to be digitally literate. Broadband adoption is vital for our communities because it helps improve our children’s education, our local economy, and the ability for members of our communities to find jobs and benefit from opportunities available online.

Comcast Internet Essentials will provide eligible families with:

-Affordable home Internet service ($9.95 per month)
-A low-cost computer ($149.99 plus taxes)
-Access to free Internet training online, in print and in classroom(at established community training sites)

Internet Essentials will be available everywhere that Comcast offers its high-speed Internet service. Students in more than 4,000 school districts in 39 states and the District of Columbia will be able to participate.

Comcast will accept new Internet Essentials participants for at least three years, through the end of the 2013-14 school year. Any household that qualifies during this three-year period will remain eligible for Internet Essentials, provided the household still qualifies for the program, until that child graduates from high school.

For more details visit their website at http://www.internetessentials.com/.


Vladimir Beaufils
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Federal Grantees Gather to Promote Safe Communities and Successful Prisoner Reentry

2/23/2011

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Washington, DC—Senior officials from the Department of Justice, reentry experts, formerly incarcerated individuals, victims, and representatives of programs receiving federal funding through the Second Chance Act (Public Law 110-199) came together today for a three-day conference, convened by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, to share strategies that increase success rates for people released from prisons, jails, and juvenile correctional facilities.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has reported that more than 725,000 people were released from state prisons in 2009 alone (the most recently published statistics). Half of these individuals are expected to be reincarcerated within three years. One of the fastest growing categories of prison admissions consists of people who are already under some form of community supervision.

With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice, this second annual national conference for Second Chance Act grantees has been convened to help frontline professionals learn from experts and peers. The conference, attended by more than 600 reentry practitioners and experts, will highlight best practices and promising approaches that help make a person's transition from a correctional facility to the community safe and successful.

“Nearly everyone in prison and jail will someday return to the community, and it is critical that we recognize and prepare for this reality,” said BJA Acting Director James H. Burch, II. “The justice professionals invited to this conference are on the cutting edge of our justice system's most significant challenge—to increase public safety, strengthen communities, and reduce costs by ensuring that those released from secure confinement do not reoffend and have every opportunity to succeed in the community.”

The U.S. Department of Justice continues to make reentry—and collaboration among reentry partners—a high priority. Attorney General Eric Holder recently convened a cabinet-level Reentry Council, with the Secretaries of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and the Interior; as well as the heads of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Social Security Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the White House Domestic Policy Council, and the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The department's Bureau of Justice Assistance also oversees the grant programs that provide technical assistance, practical resources, and direct support for individuals and agencies committed to the safe and effective reintegration of people leaving prisons and jails to their communities.

The reentry conference is designed to build the knowledge base of what works to reduce crime and help returning individuals remain contributing members of neighborhoods and families. Information exchanges will help grantees make the most of the federal investment in their programs by highlighting accountability issues and key practices. Among the topics that will be addressed are properly assessing an individual's risk for committing future crimes, designing data-driven programs, and effectively allocating limited resources for people returning from prisons and jails. Special attention is paid to sharing strategies that meet the unique needs of youth returning to schools and families after detention in a secure facility in an effort to interrupt the cycle of crime and incarceration.

“With states facing intense budget cuts, we simply cannot afford to invest in the status quo, in which people cycle in and out of prisons and jails without positive effect,” said CSG Justice Center board member Michael Lawlor, Undersecretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning at the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. “The Second Chance Act reflects the commitment of leaders in Congress and the Department of Justice to foster new thinking in local, state, and tribal governments about how to break this cycle and get people back on their feet. This conference provides the ideal forum for these ideas to be heard by the front-line practitioners who will make a difference in our communities.”

The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) provides education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections institutions working on prisoner reentry. The NRRC is coordinated by the CSG Justice Center, with support from BJA. For more information, visit www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org. For more about the CSG Justice Center, see www.justicecenter.csg.org.

The NRRC was established by the Second Chance Act, which was signed into law on April 9, 2008. The Act was designed to improve outcomes for people returning to communities from prisons and jails. This first-of-its-kind legislation authorizes federal grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services that can help reduce recidivism. For more information about the Act, seehttp://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/about/second-chance-act.

The NRRC's work also is guided by the Justice Center's key project partners: the Urban Institute,Association of State Correctional Administrators, American Probation and Parole Association, and Shay Bilchik, research professor/center director, Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. Additional guidance is provided by advisory committees that include representatives of nearly 100 leading nonprofit organizations and service providers in the reentry field.

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CRESC Strategic Planning Session - LiveScribe Transcription!

2/21/2011

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CRESC held a strategic planning session Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 from 8am to noon at the CMU 1100 South Cameron St.
The session was recorded with a LiveScribe Pen (visual notes and synchronized audio).  You can access the transcription and listen to the audio online.

The Planning Session took place in two parts.  The first part included introductions and group work to identify critical topic areas for the Strategic Plan.   The second part included further group work and report out about priorities and next action steps.

When you get to the online presentation, move your mouse over the Green written notes.  Click on a portion of the Green notes to hear the audio that is synchronized with that portion of the se

To access Part 1:  click here
To access Part 2:  click here


Respectfully ssubmitted
Barry Nazar
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Welcome to CRESC

9/23/2010

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Hello and welcome to our site. The Capital Region Ex-offender Support Coalition welcomes you and asks for your support in advancing our goal of facilitating re-entry for ex-offenders.\nThis issue is one of Public Safety and Cost Savings to the Taxpayers of Pennsylvania. The more we do as a society to reduce recidivism, the more we protect our communities and reduce the ever-increasing burden the DOC budget places on the Commonwealth.  Please consider coming along side and being part of the solution. Together we will make a difference!
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