Thunderbirds Charities awards $20,000 grant to Bridges Reentry for the Beyond the Gates Mentoring Program.
Bridges Reentry is honored to announce the organization has received a $20,000 grant from Thunderbirds Charities. This funding will be used to grow the Beyond the Gates Mentoring program; a one-year, one to one Mentor – Mentee relationship that supports women who have been incarcerated with their dignified reentry to society.
Approximately 2,000 women are released each year from Perryville State Prison. When women are released from jail or prison, they are often ill-prepared to reencounter the serious problems they faced prior to incarceration, such as domestic violence, an unstable family life, difficulties in school, limited work experience, financial issues, poverty, substance use disorders, mental health issues, a lack of vocational skills, and parenting difficulties.
The critical addition and growth of the Bridges Reentry Beyond the Gates Post-Incarcerated Mentoring Program allows Bridges Reentry to empower more women to achieve a successful reentry with a comprehensive one-year mentoring program. A cornerstone of the program is our unique training and support program for Mentors with no experience and the desire to help. This post-incarcerated mentoring program augments our powerful, and proven, Magdalene House 2- year residential program. “We are thrilled to receive this grant to support more women who deserve a second chance and more volunteers who have the time and desire to be mentors with the training and support we can offer.” Gay Romack, Founder and Executive Director.
About Bridges Reentry
Since 2017, Bridges Reentry, a Maricopa County based 501C-3 non-profit organization, has a mission to create a survivor led program of housing, healing, recovery, and sustainable economic empowerment for women who have experienced incarceration. The number of women in Arizona’s prisons has more than doubled since 2000 and has called for increased community focus on reentry. Women participating in Bridges Reentry programs will be empowered with skills and resources to integrate into society after incarceration and live substance-free, confident, and self-efficient lives. Bridges Reentry programs and staff assist these women as they work to reenter society and the challenges they face, including economic instability & joblessness; insecure housing and transportation; maintenance of a substance-free lifestyle; physical, mental and behavioral health issues; coping and relationship-building skills; and especially the stigma attached to female ex-offenders. This will contribute to healthier women, reconciling with their families and the lowering of the female recidivism rate in Arizona.
Learn more at BridgesReentry.org. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.