Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week our focus is helping those transitioning from prison back to society. The United States continues to have a system of mass incarceration with more than 2 million incarcerated. One key component of ending mass incarceration is to ensure that those who return home have the supports they need. Far too often, we allow returning citizens to reenter their communities with little to no resources for a better life. The result is increased rates of recidivism.

The One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act  (H.R.3372/S.1733) provides grants to create community centers that localize all the resources needed to start again in one place, from employment programs, education opportunities to housing assistance. This will help those released from prison to successfully transition back into society and states that have set up programs like this have seen greatly reduced rates of recidivism. This week our action is signing letters urging our members of Congress to support this legislation.

More than 600,000 people are released from prisons yearly, and they face innumerable obstacles. For example, formerly incarcerated people are twice as likely to suffer from food insecurity and nearly 5 times as likely to be unemployed as the rest of the U.S. Obstacles like these result in a startling reality: a report from the Department of Justice showed that 6 in 10 prisoners across 34 states were arrested within 3 years of release. That number jumps to 7 in 10 within 5 years of release. Reentry programs work: Nevada’s Hope for Prisoners reentry program produced a recidivism rate of only 6%, where a 44% recidivism rate had been the norm.

The One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation (passed in the House in the previous Congress) that authorizes grants for community nonprofits to operate one-stop reentry centers. The act supports a consolidated, or one-stop shop, method of accessing resources to direct individuals into programs that help them acquire jobs, get into education programs, attain suitable housing, and more. Additionally, these centers would develop plans to provide immediate transportation and connection from the time of release, further bridging the gap between release and services.

As a Church, we have long known our charge to care for those in prison: “The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoner.” (Isaiah 61:1-2). The Church has answered this call by running prisoner ministry and reentry programs throughout the U.S as well as advocating for additional government investments in reentry programs. Stand with us in furthering our commitment to rehabilitation and redemption by pushing for the One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act.

Options to Take Action:

1. Sign an Action Letter at the Action Table outside the church on Sunday morning.
2. Download a pdf copy of the Action Letter that you can sign and mail.
   Action Letter for California                           Action Letter for Outside California
3. Click on this link to Episcopal Public Policy Network action: Support Community Reentry Programs
4. • 2015-A011: Urge Advocacy for Policy Changes to End Mass Incarceration Practices
   • 2012-A077: Develop a Model Prisoner Ministry
   • 2003-A125: Establish Ministries to Assist Prisoners and Their Families
   • EXC032007: Support for Prisoner Re-entry ProgramsEpiscopal Church Resolutions:

++++++++

If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

To find contact information for your California State Senator or California State Assemblyperson check here: www.senate.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov.