War On Recidivism

It's for all those reasons that I began volunteering with the St Albans Community Justice Center's reentry program.  Specifically, I'm part of a Circle of Support and Accountability (COSA):

As a member of a Circle of Supportand Accountability, you will work very closely (on a weekly basis) with an offender returning to the St. Albans Community. Your role is to offer mentorship and support toan offender who has expressed a desire to change and a commitment to cause no more harm.

You also will work in a larger group to establish clear expectations with the offender in regards to community behavior and responsibility. COSA members will work in teams of three with a single offender. The commitment is for one year of service. COSA members will receive intensive training, supervision and support by program staff.

Thus far it's been an interesting and positive experience personally, and I am both hopeful and realistic about what will come of the team's efforts.  Our "core member" worked hard to get into the program and while we've had some ups and downs--including a rather heavy weekly group meeting today--there is great potential to make good things happen.

I encourage community members to learn about the Second Chance Act, a law signed by President George W Bush that provides grants to programs such as COSA, and check out recent testimony presented to the Legislature about reducing recidivism in our state.  And please call the Community Justice Center at 524-7006 if you're interested in volunteering in any capacity (provide transportation, offer employment, donate household items, lead a training/workshop) to help some folks get on the right track, create safer communities and save Vermont a bundle of money.

ntodd