“What’s great about being a church is we’re not Human Services and we don’t want to be Human Services,” says David. “A guy coming out of prison needs resources, but he doesn’t need to be resourced. He needs relationships.” For Brookside CDC, this means regular meetings where staff and those seeking assistance can be real with one another. Their men also go through an education series. “We’re checking off boxes to make sure they don’t have a reason to go back to their drugs or crime or old lifestyles, but they are walking in newness with a Bridge Coach that will support them all the way through the process,” David says.

According to a study from the Center for Criminal Justice Research, part of the Indiana University Public Policy Initiative, even a 1% decrease in Marion County's recidivism rate could save taxpayers $1.5 million. To help support the work of Project GRACE, please consider making a donation this #GivingTuesday.

This five-part video series explores the challenges faced by those who re-enter society after prison, as well as the power they can reclaim over their own lives through expungement and specialized driving privileges. 

This October, we celebrated a record-breaking Justice For All Gala, featuring keynote speaker and NYT best-selling author Bob Goff. Leading up to the event, Board Member Matthew Barr shared his thoughts on why his firm, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, chooses to financially support the Legal Clinic. After the event, we summarized some of the best JFA highlights and shared a video featuring a client family that survived a genocide in Ethiopia.

Too often, a criminal record strips people of their power in our society. Some can’t find a job; some can’t drive. Some lose contact with their families; some have nowhere to live. Instead of talking to them, people end up talking about them. It’s dehumanizing and demoralizing--and that’s not how the Clinic wants to talk about our clients.