Light of Christ (LOC) Family Services was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to provide comprehensive re-entry services for people returning to their communities after incarceration, with the goal of preventing recidivism, reducing crime and improving public safety. The participants of “The Changing Lanes Project” must be enrolled prior to their release from incarceration. The award is a part of the 2018 Second Chance Act grant program funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

As a 2018 Second Chance Act grantee, LOC Family Services will provide pre and post-release services to individuals who are at medium to high-risk of reoffending in the following counties: Buckingham, Cumberland, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward. Additional services will include case management, peer to peer support, transportation assistance and support, nutrition services, clinical outpatient services for individuals and their families and family reunification. The LOC Family Services will work closely with the National Re-entry Resource Center — the nation’s primary source of information and guidance on re-entry — throughout the planning and implementation of the grant program.

The program supports organizations and tribal communities that provide comprehensive re-entry services to program participants throughout the transition from jail or prison to the community.

LOC Family Services is solution-focused and seeks to reduce recidivism, help to mend broken families, increase safer communities and help individuals released from incarceration develop core skills through case management, clinical therapy and peer to peer sponsorship to become not only productive citizens in their communities but to also become re-established members of value in their families.

To learn more about the Second Chance Act visit NationalReentryResourceCenter.org.