The Living Harvest (TLH) is a new, faith-based reentry program located in Tallahassee that is excited about receiving its first residents.
Dale White, the founder and director of TLH, describes the program as a “Faith based / 12 Step Residential Christian Recovery Program and Ministry for men re-entering society from prison. The primary goal and focus of TLH is to facilitate a stable environment that gives individuals an opportunity to rebuild their lives and re-enter society as an active contributing member by achieving residential stability, increasing their skill levels and /or income, and obtaining greater self determination and moral integrity.”
White knows about reentry and can serve as a role model for reintegrating individuals. He was formerly incarcerated but used his experience to turn his life around. Now, White is dedicated to helping other newly released men do the same thing. White created TLH by studying other successful reentry programs and incorporating best practices in its design. Participants begin TLH program while still incarcerated while taking part in “Celebrate Recovery Inside,” a faith-based, 12-Step program that TLH volunteers teach. When a prisoner wishing to continue with TLH program is released he is picked up at the prison or bus stop and taken TLH residence where he is evaluated and given clothes and personal items.
In Phase One of TLH program participants who follow a strict set of rules are allowed to live at the residence for three months. Phase Two allows those who comply with less strict regulations to live at TLH for a year or more while they get their llives back on track.
TLH website lists some of the services offered to residents of the program: spiritual counseling, addictions education, case management, mental health counseling, reintegration skills, employment assistance, anger management, online educational services, and transportation assistance.
It was transportation assistance that caught the eye of Reentry Central. An important part of successful reentry is reliable transportation to help one look for employment and to get to and from appointments. Besides providing bus passes to those who need them, TLH also gives program participants a bicycle which is theirs to keep. Reentry Central thinks this is a brilliant idea. Not only can residents get to and from work when busses stop running or the bus company does not have a route to a desired location, but riding a bicycle also promotes physical fitness. Providing a newly released prisoner with the valuable gift of a bicycle also instills in him a sense of trust and responsibility. And, bicycle can represent the symbolic gift of freedom to someone whose world was comprised of four walls and fences in the not-so distant past.
To learn more about The Living Harvest, please click here.
For more information contact:
Dale White
Founder/Executive Director
The Living Harvest
1725 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850.491.8235
dale@thelivingharvest.org
|
|
|
|
