"Thank you for being the only ones that believed in me when no one else did."
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~Junior Mentor Participant
WHY US?
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We provide a holistic, full-circle experience for each person we touch as we create a safe community for all. We are there for our community from incarceration, to release, through post-release. We treat each person and their journey as unique, and we honor each step in that journey. We accept setbacks and relapses and journey through those without judgment, just as we cherish achievements and celebrations. While our sweet spot is the incarcerated 18–25-year-old population, we support all affected by the carceral system. Join us and contribute to individual fulfillment, family reunification, productive communities, and systemic transformation.
THIS PAST YEAR WE...
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Expanded our offerings of in-prison programs
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Increased the number of prisons we provide programs in
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Pivoted between in-person programming and correspondence curriculum depending on COVID climate to offer constant programming
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Supported and provided keynote speakers for Youth Offender Program graduations and resource fairs
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Continued to bridge the gap from in-prison to post-release through our “Freedom Bus” as we drive people home upon parole with a first meal, shopping trip, and a compassionate driver to process the experience of coming “home” before landing there
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Answered need for expanded reentry services throughout California
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Increased the number of people we serve in reentry and now provide comprehensive case management as well as restorative circles and community-building activities
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Set up people for success by delivering in-prison in-reach services as part of holistic warm hand-off reentry
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Offered an individualized technical training for folks returning home after long prison sentences with little technical familiarity
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Began mentoring youth and providing restorative circles in Northern California
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Started a clothing fund to provide essential clothing upon release and restore a sense of dignity as many folks leave prison with only the outfit they are wearing
Bottom line - We support our community, participants, their families, and reunification any way we can. At the same time, not only our actions, but our voices speak for systemic change.
$58 A Birth Certificate or State ID for one person
$200 Essentials and clothing for one person
$350 Three
professional driving lessons for one person
$750 Provides a ride home on the Freedom Bus with a meal, essential supplies, gas, and a driver stipend
$1,500 Provides one person with needed mental health services for six months
$2,500 Provides 20 Chromebooks for technical training
$5,000 Provides pilot prison program and supplies for 50 participants
$50 A backpack for documents, a computer, and personal property
2021 Junior Mentor Graduation at Valley State Prison
THE GENESIS
ReEvolution is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was initially created by those with lived experience and those who walked beside them with the same dream. “What if?” we said. And so ReEvolution was born to create initiatives to reduce incarceration and recidivism, to heal harm, and to build strong communities. Walk with us to further that dream.
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We started ReEvolution by creating programs specifically for those in the “Youth Offender Program,” the 18–25-year-old population housed in adult prisons; we identified a particular need for that as evidenced by the highest recidivism rate of any age group, and the legislation and brain science in support of giving youth a meaningful first chance. Our leadership, reentry preparation, and circle of harm curriculum all integrate the brain development of, and trauma experienced by, that age group. We quickly evolved to address the needs of system-impacted folks of all ages. In fact, we provide the most intensive reentry services to juvenile lifers – those that were incarcerated as youth and come home 15, 25 or 40 years later - where the need is great. We walk with our reentered community from the moment they parole, and we stay with them for support, individually and as a community, for as long as they want. Say hello to our “Freedom Bus,” “Family Dinner Restorative Circles” and ongoing individual reintegration support of all kinds.