Kelly Dame kdame@mdn.net
Published 2:00 pm, Monday, July 4, 2016
The Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehabilitation program has recently received multiple grants from community organizations.
MCFOAR, which partners with the Caregiving Network, assists former inmates to obtain housing, employment and other basic needs. The more those needs are met, the less likely former inmates are to revert back to their old ways, Rob Worsely, program director, said.
The grants include:
- $7,500 from the Dow Chemical Donor Advised Grants through the Midland Area Community Foundation,
- $8,000 from the Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund,
- $1,000 from the First Baptist Harlow Fund, and
- $15,000 from the St. John’s Episcopal Endowment Fund.
The funding from the First Baptist Harlow Fund is for obtaining essential documents, while the remaining grants are for workforce development. The Dow Corning Donor Advised Fund monies also are to assist with housing, Worsley said.
His office has 458 client files, with 243 of those files belonging to people who have served prison time. Of those former prisoners, the recidivism rate is 4.5 percent. For all other offenders participating in the program, including those who have served jail time or have not been institutionalized, the recidivism rate is 2.5 percent, Worsley said.
“Our employment assistance has placed over 74 percent of our clients requesting assistance,” he said, adding 98 percent of clients seeking housing assistance, including move ins and emergency rent, have been helped.