The reentry kit program was born in 1984 along with the beginning of POM. At that time Father Michael Bryant and Sister Mary McGowan provided basic essentials (i.e., toothbrushes, combs, etc.) as holiday gifts at the District Jail because in those days the prison population was not allowed to receive gifts from family. The program has grown steadily through the years with donations and an outpouring of support from parish volunteers. In 2006 POM discontinued delivering the packages to the DC Jail and focused on giving reentry kits to those persons in the community who were transitioning home from incarceration.
The purpose of the reentry kit is to welcome those newly released from prison and to aid them with their immediate personal care needs. Often, when someone has been released from prison, they leave with only the clothes with which they entered or a sweat suit given to them by the prison. The reentry kit ensures that no one begins their new life empty-handed.
Funding for this project was underwritten by private donors and The Order of Malta, a Catholic organization whose mission is to provide direct assistance to the poor. Their generosity made it possible for the following organizations to receive reentry kits: Camille's Place, Community Action Group (CAG), Our Place DC, Strive DC, Visitors Service Center, Unity Health Care, Southeast Ministry (SEM), East of the River Clergy (ERCPCP), Interfaith Housing, the Montgomery County Pre Release Center, Shepherd's Table, Adams House. See the Other Side, Father McKenna Center and New Revival Center of Renewal.
P.O. Box 51583 | Washington, D.C. 20091 | Phone: (202) 347-3218
