Resources to Re-connect to Success
Mission
The Mission of the VB Reentry Council is to assist returning offenders through a collaboratively-supported partnership of private, public, non-profit and faith based agencies with resources to educate and/or provide assistance to overcoming reentry obstacles.
Vision
To provide successful strategies to remove barriers enabling ex-offenders to overcome the challenges of reentry and to make them productive members of our community.
Goals
1. All formerly incarcerated persons returning to their communities who are willing to engage in services offered through the re-entry initiative will be given the opportunity to do so.
2. Create a community-wide understanding of the value to the community of a successful re-entry program. Effective re-entry programs:
Reduce recidivism thus reducing taxpayer costs for incarceration
Reduce crime rates in the community
Reduce the number of people who are homeless in the community
Include employment programs that create taxpayers
Provide an opportunity to enlist mentors (people who been through the system) to reach out to at-risk youth, reducing future incarceration rates
Create an understanding that formerly incarcerated persons have served their time and are part of the community at-large to which they return
3. Create a re-entry system that produces optimal results by understanding the current reality and advocating for needed changes with reasoned and cost-effective arguments. Effective re-entry programs:
Identify the barriers that prevent formerly incarcerated persons from being fully integrated back into the community
Advocate to change systems that can be changed to enhance successful reintegration
Examine existing resources to identify potential programs that may be enhanced to serve additional clients
Create new programs based on identified gaps in services
Advocate for additional resources based on a thorough cost-benefit analysis
Create the political will in the community based on the above points
4. Create a re-entry system that understands and values the people it serves. Effective re-entry programs:
View ex-offenders as people first and foremost
Strive to reconnect ex-offenders with the positive relationships in their community that may have been damaged through their behavior and subsequent incarceration
Provide the needed counseling that the ex-offender and his/her family members and friends may need to enhance successful reintegration
Educate the people involved in the sphere of influence around the ex-offender on the unique circumstances and challenges that he/she will face during their reintegration
Educate the ex-offender on how he/she may be perceived by the people in their sphere of influence and teach appropriate coping mechanisms
Provide, to the greatest extent possible, environments and people that enhance the likelihood of successful reintegration for the ex-offender
Re-Entry Council Meetings
The Virginia Beach Reentry Council meets the 4th Tuesday of each month in the Human Services department, 3432 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, conference room 124, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.