Adult Males Needed to Mentor Inmates
Dayton, OH - The Black Man’s Think Tank (BMTT) has partnered with Goodwill Industries of Miami Valley and PowerNet of Dayton to recruit adult males to mentor local inmates. Goodwill and PowerNet will oversee all aspects of this program, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Justices’ Second Chance Act. The BMTT will help recruit mentors.
The target population for this program will be male inmates 18 and 39 years of age, who are incarcerated at the Dayton Correctional Institution and the Montgomery Education and Pre-Release Center. The inmate participants will be within six months of release from custody. See the mentor requirements below or read on for more program information.
The anticipated program outcomes are to help inmates find employment after release, secure housing opportunities for them, transition them back into society, help repair family relationships and facilitate the development of strong, personal relationships with mentors.
Research from the Ready4Work and Private Ventures, which was launched in 2003, showed the following benefits from a mentoring program: (1) participants remained in the program longer (10.2 months versus 7.2 months); (2) participants were 60 percent less likely to leave the program the following month; (3) they were twice as likely to obtain a job; (4) meeting with a mentor increased a participant’s odds of getting a job the next month by 73 percent over participants not taking advantage of the mentoring program; and (5) participants who met with mentors were 56 percent more likely to remain employed for three months than those who did not.
The program objectives are:
1. To work with the Dayton Correctional Institution and the Montgomery Education and Pre-Release Center through service agreements to recruit and accept referrals of a minimum of 60 inmates per year and begin working with the inmates at least 6 months prior to release. The total for two years will be 120 inmates.
2. To recruit, train, and supervise at least 100 mentors over the two years to work with inmates prior to and following release.
3. To match 60 inmates per year or a total of 120 inmates with mentors for individual and/or small group mentoring relationships.
4. To reduce the incidence of recidivism by 50 percent within 4 years.
Goodwill and PowerNet will offer the following services directly to the inmates as they begin to work on reentry: pre-release and post-release mentoring services, job readiness, life skills, pre-release public assistance applications (Benefit Bank), job development and placement services, mentor job coaching if necessary, case management, mental health diagnostic services, and other pre-and-post-release services including leadership training.
Mentor Requirements
1. Must be willing to submit to a criminal background check. Does not necessarily exclude potential mentor from participating.
2. Must be willing to participate in mentor training.
3. Must be willing to commitment to 4 hours of training per month.
Mentors can stipulate their preference for working with a person of a particular background, faith tradition or other reasonable qualification. They can also elect to participate in one-on-one mentoring or group mentoring.
To start the mentor process, fill out the form to the right or call 937-718-1581.
To find out more about the program, call PowerNet of Dayton at 937-225-3120.