I heard a great podcast today on Q ideas. Catherine Rhor, a former New York investment banker left her $200,000 a year salary to form a non-profit ministry that teaches business and life skills to prisoners 6 months before they are released. The organization, Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) also helps the ex-prisoners after they are released find jobs, pursue educational/vocational training opportunities, and develop friendships with healthy role models. The recidivism rate is 0% for the 256 graduates who are active participants in the program (as compared to the national average of 60%-70%). For those who have only partially completed the program, the recidivism rate is 2.8 percent.
Catherine's story inspires me. She shows how the faithful stewardship of resources and the power of relationship can transform the lives of prisoners. Unfortunately there is not an embedded code that I can use to include the interview with Catherine Rohr in this blog.Click here to watch the interview.
PEP reminds me of a similar ministry, Men of Valor, I saw featured on the DVD Seek Social Justice produced by the Heritage Foundation. Below is a video that gives an overview of the kinds of things this amazing ministry is doing.
Men of Valor | Mentoring from Compass Cinema on Vimeo.
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