Catholic Charities’ Maryland Re-entry Partnership to hold March 15 graduation for 23 clients

Two-year milestone of no incarceration to be celebrated by participants of mentoring program

March 15, 2007

Renee Johnson,
Director of Media and Public Relations
(410) 547-5436, cell (410) 816-6152
rjohnson@cc-md.org

On March 15, 2007, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., 23 ex-offenders will celebrate two years without incarceration at Catholic Charities’ Maryland Re-entry Partnership graduation ceremony. The event will be held at The Forum, 4210 Primrose Avenue.

“It’s important that we recognize and honor men who have maintained a productive life out of prison,” says Program Director Rada Moss. Keynote speaker is Attorney Stuart Simms, of the law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy. Simms is a former Deputy State’s Attorney and Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The Maryland Re-entry program will formally acknowledge support from Bow Brenton of Tuerk House; Leon Faruq of Living Classrooms; Lisa Nixon of Parole and Probation and Andy Stritch of the Division of Correction.

Maryland Re-entry joins ex-offenders with case managers and case advocates—many of whom also have a history of incarceration. Mentoring begins prior to release and participants are met at the prison gate as they leave. The men get help with housing, employment, substance abuse counseling, and any other hurdles to gaining and retaining a stable living environment. The two-year, community-based program operates in five Baltimore zip codes to which the majority of the city’s prison population returns.

Participants in the Maryland Re-entry Partnership have a recidivism rate of only 11percent. The national recidivism rate is 51.2 percent. Employment, sobriety, family dynamics and housing are all addressed through the program.

Catholic Charities is Maryland’s leading nonprofit provider of human services, welcoming and serving people of all faiths and races who are in need. We are rooted in faith and have a rich history of effective programs that significantly improve the lives of children and families, seniors, the disadvantaged, and people with developmental disabilities.

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