"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see." Acts 3:16

Below, you will find some examples of our reintegration program that we offer to our Brand 316 members. Our goal with our reintegration training and support is to establish hope, support and successful traits needed to successfully reintegrate back into society.  Developing a safe and constructive support network is important for the long-term success and reintegration of the formerly incarcerated. 

Christ Focused Mentorship and Maturity

It is extremely important for anybody reentering society to have a mentor that is truly there for them and willing to provide valuable feedback, advice, and support in order to help that person succeed. As a Christian organization we believe that Christ focused mentorship and developing a maturity in Christ is pivotal to the success of our organization and the success of the formerly incarcerated. We know that the Bible is the word of God and its principles have proven themselves over and over. We have all sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God - including the mentors and mentees. We invite Church members to volunteer and commit just one hour a week for 6 weeks. 

Goal Setting and Accountability

Reintegrating into society is difficult and it is important to have realistic and achievable goals along with accountability. It is vital to not set goals that are unrealistic, because they need to be achievable not only to build confidence but also to show that accomplishment outside the walls of prison is extremely realistic. Through our program, goal setting combined with accountability leads to more stability for the recently released and the formerly incarcerated. 

Bible Studies 

As a Christian the Bible is our compass in life. The Bible is God’s spoken word! As a high majority of former inmates can testify, we have all sat in the lonely cell, alone and with nothing other than the Bible. The Bible is comforting but more importantly is the Truth and help us understand the forgiveness from our Lord and Savior through his words and actions. Bible studies are important and relevant to the success of any person in this world. 

Studying the Bible in a group is equally important as proven through most churches that place an emphasis on small groups. The Bible provides hope, situational advice, love, victory, forgiveness and so much more. While incarcerated, inmates have ample time to read the Bible and easily fit it into their schedule. That task is far from easy once released from prison because the busy world we live in is demanding of our time. Setting time aside for weekly Bible studies keep us all accountable and studying and learning from our Savior Jesus Christ and using that information to make godly decisions in our day-to-day activities. 

Weekly meetings/fellowship/meals

Weekly meetings, fellowship and meals together create a solid group atmosphere and positive things to do during the week. Being surrounded by others that are in similar situations with you gives you the ability to discuss, relate to and spend time with people that are facing the same struggles that you are facing or have faced. This time is also very valuable because you develop friendships that can be long lasting and mutually beneficial along with keeping you accountable.  Being able to openly discuss the realities of being released from prison combined with the struggles once out is pivotal in dealing with the anxieties of being back in society. One of the best methods of healing and moving on is open discussion.  

Drug/Alcohol Tests

Drug and alcohol tests are important for accountability and to ensure that the path they are choosing is the right path and that decisions made are of sound mind. 

Financial Planning and Budgeting

Long-term financial planning is important for anybody living in society. Budgeting is equally important so that you know you can always have food on your table and be able to pay your bills well investing in your future.  It is important for the formerly incarcerated to learn the basics of financial management, financial planning and budgeting so that they are never placed in a situation where they need money immediately leading to a bad decision.  Volunteers are always needed to teach these one hour clinics – will you volunteer?

Relationship Building 

Relationship building is a vital process for the reintegration into society because it allows you to communicate and relate to others and build relationships with people that you can trust. In prison, relationship building is difficult because you really cannot trust anybody and most have ulterior motives. When released from prison developing trust for anybody is a very difficult task and something that takes time to develop. Obviously developing relationships is important for the long-term success, support and accountability of any person.

Reintegration is a process that takes an investment of time and the willingness to want to do everything possible to get back to a normal life. It is important to keep in mind a normal life for you might be very different for someone else. If a person grew up only in hostile environments, their goal will be to start a new life of healthy relationships. Every case is unique, every person is different. Our programs focus on the individual needs of all which leads to much higher success levels. 

Realistic employment training is extremely important so the right person is trained for the right career. Our program focuses on creating a system that prepares the person for a long-term career.  One of the first key factors to overcome is understanding the difference between a job and a career. Important steps in the career training system are aptitude tests and individual plans of actions for each person participating.  There are several options and career paths for the formally incarcerated, including things like trade schools, vocational training, entrepreneurship, and jobs within major corporations.

It is important to develop and strengthen job skills because that makes it much more possible to be successful and be valuable to the company they are working for. We have also partnered with companies so that during the 12 month career training program, the members of Brand 316 are also working full time so they can instantly have income, real world job experience and take the first step in becoming a valuable member of society.  Immediate employment upon release has a dramatic effect on their long term success rate which is why we have partnered with local businesses to ensure they receive immediate work upon release. 

Our goal with realistic employment training is to recognize every individual’s strengths and weaknesses. This gives them the best possible chance of succeeding in the career they want. For anyone in society, it is difficult to expect them to be a great employee if they hate their job. The odds are stacked against the formerly incarcerated and it is vital to give them every opportunity to succeed, which includes finding good career matches for them.  Obviously, it is also important to be realistic about possible careers which is why case by case evaluation is of the utmost importance.

We also offer training courses through our network of volunteers, which include things like mock interviews, situational, awareness at work, technology training, resume writing and much more. The graduates of our program have committed a significant amount of time to bettering themselves, both for their long-term career and successful, long-term reintegration into society. They do this while working full-time and paying their own way.

We are constantly in need of additional volunteers with business experience, teachers, retirees and everyone else.