Earlier last month, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office was presented with the Achievement Award from the well respected National Association of Counties (NACo), in recognition for its innovative program that has significantly reduced the recidivism rate of San Diego parolees.
The award winning program, Helping Others Pursue Excellence (HOPE), is a collaborative effort between AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and the San Diego District Attorney’s office. Together, program team members go to local jails to provide inmates with information on how to obtain housing, food, medical care, job training and identification cards when they leave jail. Newly released inmates are also offered the same assistance. The HOPE program is connected to local service providers and the Sherriff’s Department, and therefore has a list of available community resources and support.
Initially, the goal of the HOPE program was to help inmates with their education. HOPE team members quickly realized that those with substance abuse or mental health issues could not be expected to succeed in fulfilling their educational objectives unless these, and other, problems were corrected. The HOPE program evolved into a more comprehensive reentry program with praise-worthy results. Prior to the HOPE program, the recidivism rate of San Diego County parolees was 70 percent. The San Diego County Prison Reentry Program, also known as SB618, has seen that number drop to 20 percent.
San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis is understandably happy that the San Diego DA’s office was recognized for its efforts in helping formerly incarcerated persons reenter their communities successfully. Dumanis acknowledges that reentry can be stressful, but she asserts, “By addressing inmates needs early on, we can better combat recidivism.” The HOPE program does exactly that.
Source: San Diego County District Attorney’s Office Press Release
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