Each year, as many as 35,000 people return to Philadelphia from incarceration, often struggling with the same question: “What now?” Returning citizens face a lifetime of barriers, but the first few days and weeks are particularly daunting. They are released from prison with questions about where they are going to live, how they might support themselves, and where they might find help.

According to a nationwide study in 2005, more than a third of returning citizens who are arrested within five years of their release are arrested within the first 6 months, with more than half arrested by the end of the first year. Providing returning citizens with support and accountability in the days and months following their release can dramatically improve their chances of success. This is why Redemption Housing’s first residential program, Barnabas House, is of such great importance. A reentry home in the heart of West Philadelphia, Barnabas House will exist to invite returning citizens back into the community, providing its residents with the support circles they need to properly break free of crime, addiction, and homelessness.

Mark your calendars!

On September 30th, 2017, Redemption Housing is partnering with fellow members of the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition for the inaugural Day One Challenge. This two-hour immersion experience will place you “in the shoes” of Philadelphia’s returning citizens, giving you a glimpse of what they have to experience in the days and weeks following their release. To complete the Day One Challenge, you will work with other participants to locate supports in employment and education, obtain your state IDs, and find a place to sleep until you can “get back on your feet.” Redemption Housing’s hope is that this experience will help us all gain a greater understanding of the challenges that await returning citizens, give us a greater appreciation for the variety of supports offered by Philadelphia’s nonprofit service providers, and help us to see how Redemption Housing will complement the amazing work that is already being accomplished in our city!

What would you do if you found yourself fresh out of prison, a social outcast in a strange city with nowhere to lay your head? Could you survive life “on the outside?” Enter Redemption Housing’s Day One Challenge to find out.

More information is coming, for now

SAVE THE DATE – Saturday, September 30th, 2017!