RestoreCorps--Vision for a National Reentry Service Program

Our outcomes--less that 12% recidivism in our graduates and 37% reduction of crime in our neighborhood--call for this pilot to be continued, studied, and replicated.

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When someone is released from prison, a decent job, a safe home and healthy relationships are hard to come by.  Add to these challenges of re-entry the fact that individuals often return to communities weighed down by the very problems and issues that help spawn crime and it is easy to understand the vicious cycle of recidivism.  It is difficult to sustain long-term individual change without changing the community as well. That's what makes Boaz & Ruth so unique.

Planted in the center of Highland Park, one of Richmond, Virginia's most troubled areas, Boaz & Ruth's mission is to rebuild lives and communities through relationships, training, transitional jobs, and economic revitalization. 

Three key strategies pursue that mission:

• We rebuild lives of formerly incarcerated men and women through a transitional jobs and training program.
• We empower the physically blighted commercial corridor of Highland Park by restoring buildings, incubating and operating businesses, and providing jobs.
• We connect Highland Park and our program participants to the wider Richmond community through activities that bridge racial, economic, and geographic barriers. 

All three strategies, intertwined, create a strong rope of rescue for struggling individuals and their troubled community. 

A key component of the strategies is collaborative partnerships with the criminal justice system, other non-profits and government agencies, as well as individuals and the business, faith-based and academic communities.  One of our most important partnerships is with AmeriCorps, a national service program that provides funding to organizations to meet critical community needs.  At Boaz & Ruth, AmeriCorps team members are revitalizing Highland Park through a variety of activities.

Led by the dynamic energy of founding President/CEO Martha Rollins, the creative vision of Boaz & Ruth has received national recognition through the Purpose Prize, an award recognizing social entrepreneurs who pursue new solutions to serious social issues.