Kairos Prison Ministry is a volunteer group that uses Christian programming to teach inmates life lessons to help them become better members of the community.
Kairos is an international organization that has programs at 25 correctional institutions in the state of Ohio.
Prisoner involvement starts with a three and a half day weekend program and homemade cookies, Volunteer Ken Schley said.
By: Katie Cassaro
South Street Ministries (SSM) has come a long way since the last time we caught up with them. Their building is hardly recognizable on the inside anymore, as they’ve remodeled it to house a community café and meeting space for recovering addicts, citizens being integrated back into society after jail/prison, or anyone just trying to stay out of trouble and improve their life.
Posted in Education, Food, Health, Homelessness, Neighborhoods, Poverty, Re-entry
Tagged Akron, Community, Education, Food, Health, Homeless, Neighborhoods, Nonprofit organization, Northeast Ohio, Poverty, Re-entry, South Street Ministries
By: Katie Sobiech
South Street Ministries (SSM) has come a long way since the last time we caught up with them. Their building is hardly recognizable on the inside anymore, as they’ve remodeled it to house a community café and meeting space for recovering addicts, citizens being integrated back into society after jail/prison, or anyone just trying to stay out of trouble and improve their life.
“The café has grown as both a place of connection for folks in the margins – to folks in places of opportunity,” Joe Tucker, Executive Director of SSM, said.
“It’s encouraging to recollect on what God has done because the day-to-day can often be discouraging,” Tucker shared, “Today’s a slow day at the café, but we have a café in the first place. The challenges we have now are different than those 2-3 years ago.”
By: Katie Sobiech
As we conclude this series on the world of re-entry we share the great news that recidivism is dropping in Summit County and the numbers are showing improvement through the efforts of the Summit County Reentry Network (SCRN), Oriana House and others.
The SCRN is proud to say that they are changing the county and state of Ohio for the better, and reaching new goals every day.
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Posted in Neighborhoods, Re-entry
Tagged Akron, Northeast Ohio, Prison, Re-entry, Summit County
By: Katie Sobiech
What is so great about Summit County is the fact that there are so many caring and giving hearts, willing to reach out to those who need a “hand up” in society.
But with that comes a slew of well-meaning but often misled groups, who can actually end up doing more harm than good.
Some of these groups include faith-based missions, which the Summit County Reentry Network (SCRN) hopes to reach and teach.
Some in the faith community feel it is their calling to reach out to those in prison, and genuinely want to help returning citizens. But it is lack of knowledge in this area that often sets them back. This is what the SCRN and Oriana House hope to change through education.
Good Place Akron 