Extended Family is fortunate to be partnering with several other agencies to offer services and support to men returning from incarceration to Cherokee, Etowah, and DeKalb counties. Many of these men have lost connections with family and friends during their time away and come back to find themselves without homes, jobs, transportation, medical care, clothing, and even food. Extended Success for Life (ESL) is built around the theme, “Dream, Learn, Live,” and is filled with lessons that will help returning citizens (RCs) set goals and achieve them. But, before they can learn, our RCs must first have their basic necessities provided.
One of our partners, Marked for Life Ministries in DeKalb County, recently contacted Extended Success for Life Reentry Coordinator Jerry Clemons for help with a man who had returned from incarceration and was homeless and needed transportation to Birmingham, Alabama for alcohol detoxification. Jerry agreed to take him to the treatment center, and during the intake exam, the staff grew concerned about the man’s health and transported him to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted to ICU with pneumonia.
The man reached out to Jerry from the hospital and thanked him for the ride and said he believed that, had it not been for the help of ESL and our partners, he would have died with pneumonia in the woods. He is now doing better and is receiving the help he needs. Jerry has arranged with him to begin the ESL program if he returns to this area after treatment.
Extended Success for Life is a solutions-based program to help men released from prison successfully return to their communities and families. The lessons taught during the twenty-week series focus on building healthy relationships with family and friends, gaining the skills necessary to apply, interview, and be hired for the job they want, and living each day making good choices that will not get them into trouble. Our goals are to reduce the rate of recidivism and break the cycle of incarceration in families.
Extended Success for Life is an important part of our “whole family” approach to helping those dealing with incarceration. Serving returning citizens is fulfilling our mission, “To offer help and inspire hope,” on individual at a time. For more information about Extended Family programs, visit our website, www.extendedfamilyhelp.org. For additional details or assistance through our Extended Success for Life program, email Jerry@extendedfamilyhelp.org.
