From the Executive Director
New Bicycles! Thanks to an anonymous donor through the Central Alabama Community Foundation, and the Seekers Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church, we now have five bicycles at the house for our residents to use! These bicycles are making it possible for our residents to get to jobs faster (instead of walking) or to get to jobs further away; to take trips to a store; even to get some exercise. We were also able to purchase repair kits, helmets, and locks. The Montgomery Bicycle Club offered a class to our residents about Bicycle safety and maintenance on September 26. They will continue to offer classes to our residents in the future. Meet our new social worker  For several years, the staff and board of directors at Renascence have wanted to hire a social worker to offer additional support resources to our residents. Through a grant from the Central Alabama Community Foundation, we were able to finally realize this dream! Jeronda Bouie was hired in early May and has been an excellent addition to our team since day one. She is a Licensed Master-level Social Worker and brings lots of experience and expertise to her work. She graduated from Troy University and has worked in the social work field for over 17 years. She provides a psychosocial assessment to our residents to determine their needs and help them identify realistic goals for a successful reintegration into society after they leave Renascence. She assists them with issues such as family reconciliation; obtaining needed medical care and services; job preparation and retention; addiction recovery; and many other developmental needs. She talks with them about their problems and helps them make better decisions. She helps them analyze a situation so they can think it through and understand what the outcomes might be before taking the next steps. Jeronda has one-on-one sessions with each resident, but she also holds house group meetings for everyone to discuss their good news, their frustrations, and to work out any interpersonal house struggles that might be happening at the time. She says, “I am passionate about my work, and I view helping others as more of a calling than a job. I am grateful for the opportunity to help the residents learn new skills to help them in making better choices for themselves and to achieve their goals. I aim to strengthen their confidence and increase their self-accountability in a supportive environment.” In short, she helps them become better prepared to meet the next challenges they will face when they leave Renascence and go back to family and friends. The residents have these descriptions for her:
We are glad to have Jeronda on board. We believe more of our residents will complete the program with her help Look how our garden grows! One of our residents was busy at work this summer planting a garden! Mr. Hickman got his inspiration, instructions, and plants from EAT South. He connected with them when he was going to the bus station downtown. He grew tomatoes, turmeric, jalapeño peppers, carrots, beets, radishes, husk cherries, eggplants, and more! Learn more about Eat South at eatsouth.org. Leadership Montgomery Project We are honored and proud to be selected as one of the projects for this year's Legacy Class XXXVIII of Leadership Montgomery! This team will be helping us renovate and restock our art classroom. We plan to offer art classes for our residents once again. If you are interested in teaching art (any medium) to our residents, please call 334-832-1402.  Leadership Montgomery Legacy Class XXXVIII Current volunteer needs:
Current donation needs:
Visit our Volunteer page or contact Susan Hunt Sims at renascenceinc@outlook.com or 334-832-1402 to volunteer. Incentives Program We have started a new program to encourage our residents. When they go above and beyond their normal house responsibilities or help another resident or staff member in an exceptional way, we want to provide them with a small reward. These could be small-denomination gift cards to fast-food restaurants or a store, discount coupons, or items that would be a treat for a resident to have. Prison and the life these guys knew before coming to Renascence were about punishment and restrictions. Renascence is about inspiring and positive motivation. You can help us collect these items so we can give them away to our residents! Even $5 gift cards will make a difference. Next time you are in a store, pick a few up and stop by the office. Thank you!
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Assisting in the transition of male ex-offenders from prison to a successful reintegration into the local community.
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