Halfway house effort proposed to assist 3-4 women

MATTOON — A prison ministry is about more than Bible study in a prison cell.

A group of Christians involved with Release Through Jesus, a prison ministry effort, is seeking to establish a halfway house for women released from prison who have a faith-based commitment to improve their lives.

“We need people to understand that we’re not pulling people from prison cells and putting them back on the street,” said the Rev. Jim Helton, who works with the Release Through Jesus Prison Ministry, as he attended a gathering of volunteers Monday in the East Side Church of The Nazarene of Mattoon.

But John W. Connett, senior pastor at East Side Church of The Nazarene, understands that everyone in Coles County is not going to like the idea of a halfway house for former inmates when they first hear of the proposal.

“We realize the community perception often turns to panic at first. But people need to understand these women have served their debt to society. One reason we believe so strongly in offering a second chance is because we need it so badly,” said Connett.

And no women with a history of violent crimes will be allowed into the facility after it opens, said Helton.

The three to four women will be from outside Coles County and confirmed in their commitment to Christianity as a way to change their lives for the better.

“They will already be confessing Christians,” said Brenda Creviston, a member of the organization’s board of directors. “But many of them don’t have any place else to go to except their deteriorating neighborhoods. And being there again will put them in contact with people who can get them in trouble again.”

One of the most difficult transitions for people released from prison is meeting “old friends” who drag them back to the behavior that sent them to prison in the first place, the pastors said. The halfway house would offer a supervised atmosphere with a Christian-based environment, they added.

“We’re going to let them learn how to be an asset to society, not a liability,”said Helton.

That will involve educational efforts in the facility, followed by job interviews and working in the community. More than anything, the women will have to learn how to support each other during their stay in the facility, Helton said.

But there are several steps ahead before the halfway house effort can move forward.

The group is seeking local resources, including volunteers and financial backing. A building is also needed that will require minimal repairs. And a qualified administrator and, for lack of a better term, “house mother” are being sought to help the women on their journey to new lives, the pastors said.

“We need people with experience with this kind of thing and a lot of time. But they really need to have a calling for it,” Helton said.

An informational meeting is planned on the effort in the near future. Contact Helton at 728-8775 or by logging onto www.releasethroughjesus.org.

Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.

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Please go to http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2009/02/24/news/doc49a2e527b3a15734713003.txt to find out what our community thinks about this idea, and to view the whole story.

 

Women’s Transitional Home Committee Meeting

 

The committee is meeting regularly. We visited the Shadow Home in Taylorville which is a shelter for women. The next meeting which is in June, will feature a representative from the office of the IL State Directors for Inmate Placement, who will walk us through the steps to be taken so women can be paroled to the transitional home. As you can see, things are progressing.