Our 3rd annual statewide prison reenty meeting (Oct. 4, 2024) was the largest and most successful. Over 120 people attended from non-profits organizations, community corrections, and the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC). We crammed ourselves and lots of discussions into 3 hours at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines. Doren Walker, a longtime reentry adovcate, began the meeting with a warm welcome. We next heard from Katrina Carter, the IIDOC Director of Treatment and Reentry as she described the department's philosophy of reentry and answered questions. There were two break-out s ..read more

We are excited to announce our 3rd annual statewide prison reentry meeting this Oct. 4 in Des Moines. This annual meeting is a chance for organizations to meet, share, and learn from each other. In addition, some Iowa Department of Corrections and Community Corrections (parole) staff will attend. It will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 12:00 to 3:00 PM at Plymouth Church located at 4126 Ingersoll Ave. There is no cost to attend. Snacks and coffee provided. Please let me know if you are interested in attending. Also, I have been traveling to state to meet with organizations all summer. It is ..read more

Hello all, it has been a full year - some travel and some new approaches to reentry. We are still unable to do workshops at any of the Iowa prisons, but we are still working with new incarcerated individuals every week! I want to thank our team for their dedication and commitment - Sue Hutchins, Doren Walker, Dale Helling, Erin James and Jerry Nelson. We look forward to expanding our work in 2022. Here is a list of some activities: Traveled to Burlington in March to meet with the amazing Tamara Nunez at ADDS (https://addsiowa.org/ and see the new housing program at Transitions (https://www.tr ..read more

We have an extremely busy November. Already, we have participated in the IJAN annual conference, a Job Fair at Mt. Pleasant and begun holding workshops at IMCC/Oakdale. The IJAN (Iowa Justice Action Network) conference was titled "Disrupting the Cradle to Prison Pipeline" and was outstanding. Highlights included Dr. Tammy Nyden and the Waterloo Hip Hop Literacy group. Sue Hutchins deserves much of the credit for this excellent conference. The Job Fair (Nov. 14) was a great chance to follow-up with men who attended workshops at Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility (MPCF). We also we able to netwo ..read more

April 28 - The day started in Ft. Dodge to meet with the Church of the Damascus Road leaders Carrol and Judy Lang. Their organization began in 1998 and serves both Ft. Dodge and Rockwell City prisons. Covid hit them pretty hard, but they continue to provide mentor support. Such an inspirational and dedicated group. It was an honor to meet them. Judy Lang and Mike Cervantes Next my travels took me to Des Moines. First to meet with Jim Ferguson and John Mathes of the Plymouth Church of Christ. They do incredible work providing mentoring to men and women leaving incarceration. So many individual ..read more

On Wednesday, Oct 9, I had the chance to visit with several reentry organizations, Iowa parole staff and DOC reentry director Katrina Carter. It was wonderful to see all the hard-working and committed people in the Des Moines area. On the way back to Iowa City, I stopped in to Discover Hope 5:17 and learned that they will be opening their new residential facility in less than a month! As part of this trip, we began making plans for the next state-wide reentry meeting. Kingdom Living has offered to host and we are looking at a tentative date of May 6. More details to follow ..read more

April 27 - It has been an incredible first day of visits to reentry organizations. First stop was in Mason City to meet with On Common Grounds/In Faith founder and director Ken Quintus. He is an inspiration! Ken operates 3 houses and works closely with other organizations in his community. Next stop was also in Mason City to meet with Live Free founder/director Jani Dahlin. They got started as a residential option for women and are thriving. Both Ken and Jani offer to mentor individuals in their community even if the individual is not in their residential program. Truly amazing people! Ken Qu ..read more

On Friday, August 23, I had the opportunity to visit Davenport and meet with some amazing people doing reentry work. The trip began with a community outreach meeting organized by Bob Davis of Community Health Care. Over 20 different groups were there. They are very collaborative community. Next, I met with the 7th Judicial District parole coordinators. They were very supportive of our mission and provided valuable information on housing options in the district. They emphasized the need for incarcerated individuals to mend fences with family if possible. They find that success often hinges on h ..read more

This month has been busy with improvements on the statewide resource guide. We finally met with parole staff in all 8 judicial districts. Marshalltown (2nd), Sioux City (3rd) and Council Bluffs (4th) were the last visits. All the people we met were supportive of our efforts to provide resources to those leaving incarceration. In addition, we had the chance to learn about and meet some new non-profit organizations who are doing amazing work. One highlight was spending the evening with Jason Darrah in Sioux City. Jason is a great resource for those leaving prison in his area. He knows the challe ..read more

“Good Luck” Is Not Enough By Mike Cervantes May 2019 - Oakdale Voice I have never been incarcerated. But, over the past ten years, I have spent time in four different Iowa prisons as a teacher and volunteer. Nearly every visit (and I consider myself fortunate to be only a visitor) raised the issue of release and reentry. The concerns of the men and women as they thought about leaving prison and starting their lives outside echoed in my mind. Specifically, I remember a letter I received in early 2017. A man wrote that he was being released in six months and wanted to know what supports there we ..read more