Pre-release Service
With the pre-release service of One-to-One, we help
inmates keep their housing and belongings while in jail so they have a
place to go when released. Examples of assistance with housing include
making phone calls on behalf of inmates to landlords to make
arrangements for inmates to keep their apartments or houses. If this is
not possible, we can assist in obtaining and storing essential property
such as identification, personal photos, business papers, etc., for a
period of up to six months.
The informal counseling aspect of One-to-One provides the support and
training to help inmates work on their goals of self-sufficiency. This
assistance takes a variety of forms including the provision of guidance
and assistance in the formulation and implementation of personal and
vocational goals. The type of help is dependent upon what the inmate
needs and the skills of the volunteer. For example, one of our
volunteers is a co-active personal coach and does a brilliant job in
providing peer mentoring to inmates.
The re-entry component of One-to-One consists of volunteers making
appropriate referrals to community resources. While we receive a variety
of types of referrals, 50-70% are for housing and other community
referral services. In addition to residential services, several of our
clients request referrals to drug and alcohol treatment centers upon
release.