SPRING
Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
Song of Songs (Solomon) 2:11-12 (NLT)
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THE WHY
(EXERPT) Maintaining contact with family members is difficult. While many correction departments recognize the value of communication between prisoners and their families, correctional practices, reflecting the security mission of prisons, often impede the maintenance of family ties. Intimidating security procedures, geographic distances between prison facilities and family residences, the time-consuming nature of visits, and the general lack of visiting arrangements conducive to parent-child interaction severely inhibit these visits.
Even long-distance phone calls can be problematic. State prison facilities frequently enter into contracts with phone companies that result in unusually high charges for long- distance calls. Phone companies stand to gain as much as $85 million from these contracts.
First published: October 2003, Revised June 2005,
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/50461/310882-Families-Left-Behind.PDF
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Ohio Recidivism Rate
31.45%
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COMMUNITY IMPACT
  
Since January, 2023, we have impacted 41 people through our twice monthly Support Groups, Welcome Home Bags, Resources, and Website prayer requests. Our partnership continues with St. Vincent DePaul's Reentry Program were we get to provide Welcome Home Bags for returning neighbors. We were also privileged to be able to provide clothing assistance for a family in need for the summer.
A journey to healing is a path walked by FAITH in Christ, to gain true FREEDOM and experience abundant LIFE.
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On February 28, Dion Crockett, a reentry specialist, was our Support Group guest speaker. He dropped many gems and shared valuable wisdom from his many years of experience with returning neighbors. Visit the Faith Freedom Life YouTube Channel to view our group session with Dion. On April 28-30 Faith Freedom Life sponsored and hosted its 2nd Annual Women's Rejuvenation Retreat. God more than met our expectations as many different women of many different backgrounds and stories let their hair down and fellowshipped in a real, authentic, sincere, and genuine way. We ate excellent food, laughed, sang, talked, shared, played games, joked, danced, cried, and worshiped together. The weekend was nothing short of spectacular!
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On May 27 we will host a FREE Hygiene Giveway at My Neighbor's Place in Westwood along with FREE water/juice/snacks. Come out and learn about the services of Faith Freedom Life and pick up free hygiene.
 
On June 27 my mentor, Lucretia Bowman, will join support group as a guest speaker to talk to us about healing and wholeness. Lucretia is the author of Breaking the Cycle of Self Abuse, Vice President of Recovery Services at City Gospel Mission, and Founder of HAVING THE COURAGE TO CHANGE, which are transitional housing facilities for men and women struggling with life altering issues.
On July 22 we will host the second Mental Illness Awareness (MIA) Block Party at Hartwell Recreation Center. There will be amazing speakers, food, music, a basketball contest, and giveaways. The discussions will be centered around mental illness as it pertains to incarceration, how mental illness can affect family members, and an individual long after they walk outside the prison gates. We are all made up of mental health and mental illness is real. Let's learn from other's stories so we can be better equipped to help someone.
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Anyone impacted by the world of incarceration is welcome to join our support groups. Follow us at Faith Freedom Life on Facebook and IG for support group Zoom link information and event dates. Also, visit our YouTube channel to hear the Support Group Video Recaps and more. Don't forget to subscribe, like, share, and comment.
We need your support via monetary or in-kind donations. Please visit www.faithfreedomlife.org/donate for more information about ways to donate, items needed, how your donations will be used, and how we honor and recognize our individual/corporate sponsors. THANK YOU in advance for your support. |
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A Message to Our Donors
Your Generosity Makes an Impact!
Faith Freedom Life would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to all our supporters who have provided monetary and in-kind donations. You help make us successful. We look forward to working with you all in the years to come. TOGETHER, we can provide support services to those in need while coming alongside people in their life’s journey.
2023 Donors
Lee and Angela McLaughlin, Abby Minton, Rickeshia Moon, Diana Smiley, Attorney Bernard and Mary Smith
**Thank you to all the donors and Facebook Fundraiser contributors who wish to remain anonymous**
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