NCJ Number
111705
Date Published
1988
Length
122 pages
Annotation
The Liberation of Ex-Offenders Through Employment Opportunities (LEEO) program represents a unique integration of religious and secular values, systems, and resources designed to facilitate the reintegration of ex-offenders into society in Washington, D.C.
Abstract
Begun in 1987 as a Christian ministry of the Lutheran Church, LEEO offered screening, referral, job readiness and placement, support and supervision, and followup services to both men and women. The stories of four LEEO participants highlight the programs' emphasis on personal liberation through power, self-perception, systems, and judgments. Each of these stories is analyzed from both a relational and a Christian, biblical perspective that implies that each persons' life is a self-creative process characterized by freedom and the potential for change, but that also is related to other events in the environment. The societal environment is characterized by pluralism, resistance, publicness, identification, and linkages. LEEO's success stemmed from responding to these characteristics with adaptation without compromise, taking a stand without counterresistance, drawing the media into its experience, having a clearly defined purpose, and taking only what was needed from available resources. Its success also is attributable to the characteristics of the caring persons involved in the program -- openness, flexibility, spiritual power, freedom, and creativity. Sample letters to the program from inmates highlight the fears and hopes of those preparing to make the transition from cell to society.