Press Release – Extended Family is Excited to Partner with
The Church of St. Michael and All Angels
Extended Family has been working to expand our re-entry program, Extended Success for Life, throughout Northeast Alabama to serve returned citizens (those recently released from jail or prison). We originally offered services to men returning to Cherokee, DeKalb, and Etowah counties. This year, we have expanded to include services for returned citizens coming home to Calhoun County.
A large part of the success of a re-entry program is being accessible to those needing services. Reaching returned citizens in Anniston would not be possible if they had to travel to the Extended Family office in Centre, forty miles away. As troubling as the problem seemed, the solution, finding the resources to provide a satellite location in a neighboring county, was even more daunting. Fortunately, we have amazing supporters who continue to help us overcome obstacles as we strive to make our programs available to everyone who needs them.
Extended Family was connected with David Hodnett, Priest-in-Charge at The Church of St. Michael & All Angels, who, along with other church leaders and staff, met with Extended Family and offered an outreach office that was available for use in an annex building on their campus. They had been searching for a nonprofit who shared their passion for helping others to use their facility to do good in their community. In just a few meetings between Extended Family staff and members of St. Michael’s, it became clear that a partnership between the two would be mutually beneficial to both groups, and abundantly helpful in offering services to returned citizens in the area.
Extended Success for Life helps returning citizens address challenges with a three-part approach: dream, learn, and live. The first step is to teach these individuals to dream, using activities and lessons, and to set goals for their physical, mental, and emotional success. The second step is to provide individualized lessons, interactive activities, and community-based resources through a twenty-week long mentoring program to help the returning citizen learn how to set actionable steps towards reaching their goals. Finally, returning citizens are given what they need to work toward their goals and step-by-step guidance to help them make their dreams reality.
Hodnett is optimistic about the impact this outreach office will have on the community, “This partnership between The Church of St. Michael’s & All Angels and Extended Family is important because their re-entry program, Extended Success for Life, fits into our vision of outreach, which is to restore hope and healing and rebuild lives and relationships. I pray that this partnership will accomplish much good in our community moving forward.”
We are so excited to have this opportunity to grow through this partnership. The Church of St. Michael & All Angels parishioners share our goals of reducing the rate of recidivism among returned citizens and breaking the cycle of incarceration in families. Plans are already underway to begin using the new space on The Church of St. Michael & All Angel’s campus. If you know of a returned citizen in the Calhoun County area who needs help in being successful after prison, contact Jerry Clemons, 256-706-2043, jerry@extendedfamilyhelp.org.
