HOPE Letters
HOPE Letters is an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC)-supported mentorship through correspondence ministry that is faith-based and focused on supporting reentry. HOPE Letters writers offer encouragement, guidance, and restorative relationships with men and women incarcerated in Ohio’s prisons. Our goal for all HOPE Letters groups is to be a welcoming community for those who have returned home after an incarceration experience.
We host monthly HOPE Letter Information Sessions on the second Monday of the month on Zoom at 7PM. Registration information is in the flyer below.
For more information about starting a HOPE Letters group or joining a group, contact Jami Nathan at jami.nathan.22@gmail.com
Four Friends Speakers Bureau
"We, everyone, cannot grow spiritual, emotional and mentally alone. Everyone needs someone to walk with them. All of us have a need to belong. We [returning citizens] come to tell our story what it is like to walk out of prison and have friends like those who carried the paralytic to Jesus." -- James Clay, restored neighbor
The Four Friends Speakers Bureau is an outreach ministry that supports formerly incarcerated individuals (also known as returning neighbors) bringing their stories of faith and transformation to others.
To schedule a Four Friend to come to your congregation or group, contact Rae Lynn Schleif at rlschleif@gmail.com or Jami Nathan at jami.nathan.22@gmail.com
Frankly Speaking with Four Friends is an opportunity to meet and learn from a Four Friends speaker. Each month on the first Tuesday at 7PM on Zoom we feature a different speaker.
The First 72
All In Community offers a framework to engage individuals and groups to create ways to walk with and support returning neighbors in their first minutes, hours, and days after they are released from incarceration. Context is key as each engagement is initiated based on the community, resources, and involvement by the interested individuals and groups.
For assistance in engaging with our framework, contact Jami Nathan at jami.nathan.22@gmail.com or Reba Collins at allincommunity@wocumc.org.
Good Samaritans
With the Parable of the Good Samaritan as foundational scripture, All In Community is working to create a network of trained care providers (i.e. Stephen Ministers) that offer supportive, one-on-one care with individuals affected by the criminal justice system. Caring relationships through Good Samaritan Ministry will be established in two ways: inside correctional facilities and outside in our communities.
For more information about starting a Good Samaritan Ministry initiative, contact Jami Nathan at jami.nathan.22@gmail.com.