2020 End of Year Newsletter

INTRODUCTION

THE 3 PILLARS

We are a nonprofit organization, located in Los Angeles, CA, dedicated to reducing incarceration and recidivism, building community, and healing individual and collective harm. We specialize in empowering youth, incarcerated youth offenders, and formerly incarcerated juvenile youth offenders to reenter and thrive in society or while incarcerated. ReEvolution began its journey as some of our team started volunteering to work with the Youth Offender Program (YOP) at Valley State Prison (VSP) in the summer of 2017. As our relationship with VSP grew and changes in legislation were providing increased opportunities for youth offenders, we saw increasing needs, decided to start our flagship program, Junior Mentors, in March of 2018, officially incorporated in June of 2019, and now here we are. We pride ourselves in being responsive to the community and growing based on what’s needed. It’s a natural progression that has been effective and well received. Below you will find more detailed information about what has happened throughout 2020 and what’s in store for 2021.

The REMIX pillar encompasses our in-prison programs for transitional youth age 18-25. Junior Mentors is a two-year leadership and self-discovery program. The Sanctuary Program takes an art focused approach to victim impact classes for this age group. Our Restorative Mentor Training fosters meaningful and sustainable approaches and relationships between mentors and mentees. Finally, we can’t forget ReEvolution’s sponsorship of the YOP Dog Training Program.

The REENTER pillar encompasses the support and community we provide to those reentering society, along with their family and loved ones, from life skills, to processing groups, to outdoor bonding activities, and emotional support.

The RESTORE pillar comes full circle as those who have reentered now mentor youth in the free world and youth in prisons.

Stay tuned for our weekly emails throughout December where we’ll elaborate more on these programs.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2020

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2021

We completed our first cohort & full two-year curriculum of Junior Mentors at VSP. We completed the first year for the second cohort at VSP and first cohort at CRC.
We’ve successfully transitioned in-class curriculum to correspondence packets by consulting our community members and various professionals such as art therapists, career counselors, life coaches, and other industry experts to continue to provide support while the prisons have been locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We started quarterly community outreach efforts to check on community members to see how people are faring during the pandemic and to be responsive to the changing landscape and needs.
Our reentry community expanded considerably, and we pivoted our hustle to accommodate the increased emotional and logistical support needed in all aspects of reentry due to the pandemic.
We’ve transitioned our restorative circles, lovingly called “Family Dinners,” and other support groups to video conference platforms.
We initiated a focus on identifying and processing PTSD and conducted two online seminars
We brought all our booking, coaching, and reentry services online
We began our Ride Home Program and are the preferred service for youth offenders at one prison who don’t have friends or family to pick them up. We’ve received rave reviews of rides home in our “Freedom Bus.”
We financially and emotionally supported the twelve shelter dogs and their YOP participant-trainers at VSP.
We expanded our monthly reentry support program to The Beacon House, a transitional home for lifers.
Our outdoor activities and community building events progressed safely with a whale watching tour and our second annual surf day. For many it was a first time on a boat, a first-time riding a wave, and/or the first time seeing the sand or ocean in 20+ years.
We’ve started a scholarship coaching program (see 2021 goals)

We’ll be starting classes for the victim impact Sanctuary Program at CRC & SATF prisons.
We’ll be starting the third cohort of Junior Mentors at VSP and the second cohort at CRC.
We’ll be graduating a 2-year Junior Mentor class at VSP in April
We are expanding the scope of our reentry services as we move forward ~ stay tuned ~ for one, we are integrating the services of a career coach/counselor more regularly into our mix.
Drop-in Facility: We’re working to secure a bigger office space in Los Angeles that functions as a drop-in center so we can offer more resources, workshops, and a safe place for the increasing reentry population.
It’s our intention to expand our reentry services outside of Los Angeles to our communities in Sacramento and the Bay Area.
We will be partnering with VSP and COSA Fresno to expand our reentry efforts to a larger wrap around reentry service which will provide reentry prep to youth offenders slated to leave prison within 1-2 years and will follow them in their transition.
We’ll continue community outreach efforts, remain flexible to changing landscapes, be responsive to community needs, and provide extra emotional support - especially during the current pandemic.
We’ve chosen two scholarship recipients for the coaching program that will be starting in January. Our intention is to add these people to our team once they complete their programs to bolster our reentry support with those with lived experience.