St. Vincent New Beginnings (SVNB)

I've been part of the Jail Ministry program for 5 years and have had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the gentlemen in the Delaware County jail along with providing them a series of basic life skills training in areas of mental health, addiction, relationship building/healing and job seeking.

These focus areas, without exception, are consistently missing in the men we serve.  The average stay in DCJ is 45 days so we have little time with the guys but this time can change their life. In some cases, we have a longer time with the men and have seen them go through each training session multiple times. This training encourages participation and I have witnessed the change in men as they complete the session. 

I'm motivated simply by being with these gentlemen as I truly believe many of them want to make the necessary changes in their life to get on the right track. Many of the guys have children and families that rely on them for support and I can see the pain they are going through as they spend time away from their loved ones. For those that don't have a family home to go back to when they leave DCJ, I see the struggle they have finding transitional shelter. There just isn't enough safe housing available so many simply go back to the streets which increases their chances of coming right back to jail. I would like to see the tremendous work we are doing inside the jail continue when they get out and I believe one way to accomplish this work is to provide a pathway which includes housing to keep the guys focused on changing their life and becoming productive citizens. 

Over the past 4 years as part of the St. Vincent DePaul Navigate Program, volunteering at the Delaware County Jail, I have discovered several common themes across nearly all the inmates.  These themes are a general lack of upbringing of the men, specifically a lack of male role models in their live (or very poor role models), and the permeating involvement of drugs in their lives.  Nearly all of them are at the jail because they were using drugs, selling drugs, or did something while under the influence of drugs.  The drug involvement, and the recidivism back into this life is usually based on very practical things:

- Transportation:  "When I was released from the jail, I didn't have a ride so I called my old buddy.  He offered me drugs on the ride home after being released."

- Housing:
                "I had nowhere to go, so I stayed with my Mom, who is also using.  It wasn't long before I started using again"
                "I had no place to live, so I ended up staying with my buddy (or girlfriend, or brother, or someone from the "old life") who is still selling (or using)"
                "My rent is so much that I needed to sell drugs in order to make the payments because my job didn't pay enough"

Having a stable housing situation, especially in the first few weeks/months of being released, will give these men the support, example, and routine schedule necessary to settle into a life more stable than they have lived in the past.  Providing housing is a foundational element necessary for success in any other area of their life, and it will make a big difference to them in their quest for a productive life.