Program gives those released from jail ‘that support to move forward’

Donald Allen, left, and his Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry coordinator Brooke Owens pose on July 12 in Terre Haute with the items Allen received through the archdiocesan Corrections Ministry’s Re-entry Gift Program to help him prepare for a job as an HVAC technician. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

Brian Cain speaks enthusiastically about his job assembling engines at the Subaru car manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Ind., his tone animated by pride and joy in his work.

There were some items he needed to have before starting the job, though—long-sleeved shirts, jeans, steel-toed shoes and some tools. He estimates the total cost for the items was between $500-$1,000.

“Most guys coming out of prison don’t have that kind of money,” notes Cain, who re-entered society on Nov. 6 last fall. “You have to have those things to start. You can maybe go to Goodwill or some churches to see how they can help, but that takes time.

“So, when [the employers] ask when you can start and you have to say, ‘I don’t know’ because you don’t know when you’ll be able to get the things you need, they’re just going to move on to someone else.”

It’s a scenario Cain is grateful to have avoided, thanks to funding from the archdiocesan Corrections Ministry’s Re-entry Gift Program.

Through the program, Corrections Ministry coordinator Deacon John Cord was able to provide Cain in advance with the items he needed for the job with Subaru, allowing Cain to start on Nov. 14, just eight days after his release.

With the help of the funds, says Cain, “I had what I needed to move forward, to start work, to start getting a paycheck, to begin living my life.”

‘Saved me so much money’

The Re-entry Gift Program was created for circumstances just like Cain’s.

Before Deacon Cord became coordinator of the archdiocesan Corrections Ministry in January 2023, an anonymous donor “offered a gift of $10,000 to the archdiocese to assist people coming out of prison who didn’t have work clothes and things they would need to start a new job,” he says.

“I was told that [the donor’s] nephew, who was living in a different state, was released from prison and had a job waiting for him but couldn’t take it because he didn’t have the steel-toed shoes he needed and ended up homeless. [The donor] wanted to make sure that didn’t happen here in Indiana.”

Deacon Cord contacted the Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC) to discuss how the donation could be put to use for its intended purpose.

“They have a wonderful program called HIRE [Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry] where they find jobs for people getting out of prison,” he says. “But oftentimes, it was a problem because [those being released] didn’t have the gear they needed to start. By law, the DOC isn’t allowed to give gifts like that to people being released.”

The Re-entry Gift Program launched last summer. Now when HIRE coordinators line up jobs for people being released, they can submit a form to Deacon Cord requesting items a person will need to start a job.

For Donald Allen, that list included steel-toed boots, Carhartt work pants and T-shirts for work as an HVAC technician.

“I haven’t used them yet, but I know they’ll be a great help when I do,” says Allen, who is studying for an HVAC technician certificate at Ivy Tech Community College in Terre Haute. He is close to completing that program and is applying for scholarships to take a few more classes to earn an associate’s degree.

“I’m just so grateful for the sponsor out there willing to do this for people in my situation,” he says. Not having to spend several hundred dollars for the essential items “definitely saved me so much money. With a certificate, I’ll be able to get a better job, and having the boots and pants and shirts, I’ll be able to start a job right away.”

‘That piece of dignity’

The cost of such items is often “out of reach” for those coming out of prison, says HIRE coordinator Brooke Owens.

“We have folks coming out of criminal facilities with nothing but DOC-issued clothes on their back,” she says. “You’d be astonished at how many people don’t have the absolute basics when they re-enter society. I had one person meet me who had to borrow his roommate’s shoes. They weren’t his size, but he had no shoes he owned.”

Owens says the Re-entry Gift Program “has made it possible to give them that piece of dignity to face the world like everyone else, so they’re judged on their merits and capabilities and don’t have to worry about do I have pants, do I have underclothes to go to work.”

Deacon Cord describes a recent encounter with another grateful HIRE coordinator at a Re-entry conference.

“She walked up to me and just threw her arms around me and gave me a hug,” he says. “She said, ‘You can’t believe how much what you’re doing, what the archdiocese is doing, is changing people’s lives. A lot of the people wouldn’t be able to get a job if not for what you’re doing.’ ”

‘It gives people the confidence they need’

With the original donor’s permission, some of the funds are used to purchase Bibles and rosaries for those currently in prison, as well as some holiday treats.

But the vast majority of the money is focused on purchasing items related to a specific job—and even items to help make employment in general possible.

“Some people have to walk to work, or some people who work still don’t have a place to live,” says Deacon Cord. “During the winter, I was buying Carhartt coveralls, winter coats, boots and tents so they could stay warm.”

The funds help indirectly in other ways as well. Allen notes that he “came out of prison and moved straight into a sober home,” a place that provides not just housing but also help for those with a history of alcohol or substance addiction.

“Having a job or being in school is required” to be accepted into such homes, he says. “If you can have what you need to have a job lined up right when you get out, you don’t have to worry about not getting into a sober house.”

And being able to start a job after being released cuts down on recidivism, Cain says.

“It gives people the confidence, the mentality they need to strive to stay out of prison instead of being sent back,” he says.

‘That support to move forward’

The number of item requests from HIRE coordinators varies per week, says Deacon Cord, but currently ranges from five to 20.

While the original donor continues to contribute to the fund, the amount “won’t get us through the end of the year,” Deacon Cord admits. “At the current rate, we’ll probably have 400-500 people we’ll be helping. The average cost is well over $150, so we’re anticipating needing $75,000 total for the year, and we don’t have near that amount in the account. A couple more months and we’ll probably need more money.”

If Cain could, he would go house-to-house encouraging people to contribute.

“You’ve got to have that support to move forward,” he says of those leaving the prison system. “This is a good way to help people like me move forward.”

Since starting his job last fall, Cain now rents an apartment, owns a car and has his driver’s license—“I haven’t had one since 1994,” he says with a touch of pride in his voice.

But the accomplishment of which he is most proud is being able to financially help his 29-year-old daughter.

“I’ve been able to give her the child support I couldn’t give all those years before,” he says.

He also likes to “pay it forward” by donating socks and underclothes to a local community corrections program.

“When you’re getting out [of prison], you’re happy, but you wonder where you’re going to live, where you’re going to work, what you’re going to eat,” says Cain. “If I can help just one person, I feel like I’m winning.”
 

(For more information or to contribute to the Re-entry Gift Program, contact Deacon John Cord at jcord@archindy.org.) †