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Dear John xxxxxx,
Having just begun our new fiscal year on July 1, we want all of our members, supporters, allies, and advocates to know our strategy for working through the pandemic with modified virtual services, returning to “normal” programming, and emerging from this crisis stronger than ever.
It’s a simple plan of three R’s: Resilience, Recovery, and Renaissance.
And while we cannot guarantee, given constantly evolving circumstances, that our timeline will happen as intended, please know that we are absolutely committed to working strategically and tirelessly to assure that our incarcerated and formerly incarcerated community members are safe, supported, and have every opportunity for success.
1) Resilience
ARC responded quickly and nimbly to the COVID-19 crisis by moving as much of our programming as possible to virtual platforms. From therapy and support groups, to Hope & Redemption Team broadcasts inside institutions, to our construction Apprenticeship Readiness Program, ARC hasn’t missed a beat in making sure all of our services are accessible via creative virtual outlets. In addition, we have continued—with necessary modifications and precautions—in-person programming at Magnolia and Bromont, our two transitional housing sites, as well as our residential and Life Coach services at the Ventura Training Center fire program. We also set up a Rapid Response Fund to assist with the urgent financial needs many ARC members are experiencing and have so far disbursed more than $50,000. We’ve conducted webinars on how to access unemployment and other benefits. We expect to continue this phase of Resilience, with some degree of program modification, through Fall of 2020.
2) Recovery
By Fall or Winter, ARC expects to be back to more of a “business as usual” model, in which we will provide our full suite of in-person services available in our Los Angeles and Sacramento offices, our inside programs will return to 18 facilities (10 state prisons, 1 jail, 3 juvenile halls, and 4 DJJ youth correctional facilities), and our construction program will return to a hands-on training model at Southwest College. ARC intends to factor “lessons learned” from the pandemic into our programming moving forward: for example, while we reached more than 5,000 people annually through our in-person Hope & Redemption Team, we now know that we can deliver programming to more than 120,000 incarcerated men and women through video recordings and virtual meetings; we have also seen a surge in participation in our Policy Advocacy trainings now that we are conducting them virtually, and we are open to continuing some of our work online if it will mean that we can reach more members and have a bigger impact. We envision this Recovery phase to continue through the end of the year.
3) Renaissance
ARC has experienced exponential growth since our founding in 2013, just seven years ago. While the pandemic has made it necessary for us to pause some of that expansion, it has also given us the opportunity to take a step back, to reexamine the needs of our members, and to begin forming a strategic plan that will allow us to innovate and to excel more than ever before. We envision a future for ARC in which we have even more opportunities for formerly incarcerated people in leadership roles—both at ARC and in management and professional positions in a wide variety of industries. We will be working on a number of workforce development partnerships, including those in the green technology sector, and we will likely begin our own social enterprise. Due to a continually growing need for housing, we will also likely add additional housing sites, particularly for women and youth, as well as to serve the needs of our Sacramento membership. In addition, we will continue to expand targeted programs for youth, women, and non-binary members and will be investing resources in those departments. We are optimistic that our Renaissance phase will begin by the Fall of 2021.
If there’s one thing that’s apparent in these ambitious plans, it’s that our work is only possible because of our partnerships—most importantly, our supporters like you. As we begin our new fiscal year, your generous contribution can help assure that we move successfully from Resilience into Recovery and then… Renaissance!
More than ever before, we are counting on your compassion and generosity to fuel our work. And for the duration of this week (through July 5), a generous private foundation has offered to match all gifts—so that your donation will have twice the impact! Please contribute today and feel gratified that you have made a meaningful investment in a better future for all people.
Thank you in advance—and have a safe and restful Independence Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Sam Lewis
Executive Director
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)
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