Extended Family is dedicated to serving those dealing with incarceration through a “whole family” approach. We have worked with hundreds of adults and children family members of those who are incarcerated since our beginning in 2003. This year, we launched Extended Success for Life (ESL), a program especially made for returning citizens, those being released from incarceration and reintegrating into their families and communities.
Our beginning goals are to work with returning citizens (RCs) who are coming home to Cherokee, DeKalb, and Etowah counties. These men meet weekly with Reentry Coordinator Jerry Clemons, who takes each participating RC through a series of twenty lessons tailored to the specific needs of the individual. The lessons lead the men to dream about what they want for their futures, to learn how to achieve the goals they set for themselves, and to live the skills they have developed through the Extended Success for Life program. We hope that this additional support will help each RC to refrain from reoffending, reducing the rate of recidivism and breaking the cycle of incarceration in families.
The process of setting goals and then holding themselves accountable to achieve them can be difficult for our RCs. They must be ready to learn, change, and grow, which is very often outside of what they consider to be comfortable or even normal. Those who accept the challenges presented to them in Extended Success for Life have so much to gain. It takes courage to choose a new life path, which is why the support the RCs receive while in the ESL program is vital to the process.
Extended Success for Life is providing a support system for men who need it most. From identifying resources to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter to teaching lessons in character development, Returning Citizens are assisted in bolstering their personal foundations so that they can rejoin their families and rebuild their relationships and lives.
If you know a returning citizen who is ready for help from Extended Success for Life, please email Jerry Clemons, jerry@extendedfamilyhelp.org or call 256-927-7997.
