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Consider a Better Way
Your taxes have been used to keep offenders in prison. Wouldn’t you like to invest in something that helps keep them out? Out in the community living productive, responsible lives... rather than reverting to old ways that cause more damage and send them right back behind bars?
 Each year our state and federal prisons release more than 700,000 prisoners back into our neighborhoods. Many actually have good intentions to “make it.” But few have received any preparation or support. So it’s not surprising that more than 50 percent return to prison within three years.
But there is a better way: the InnerChange Freedom Initiative®—a values-based reentry program developed by and affiliated with Prison Fellowship. For IFI graduates, the return-to-custody rate after two years is only 8 percent, based on a study of our Texas program. Prison Fellowship supports IFI because exposure to the life and teachings of Jesus can result in lifelong spiritual and moral transformation.
Change from the Inside Out
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) is based on the belief that real and lasting changes takes place from the inside out, as prisoners learn and live out a new set of values drawn from the life and teachings of Jesus. The full program includes both pre- and post-release phases to increase the likelihood of prisoners’ success when they return to society.
 Pre-Release: IFI members—who have volunteered for the program—live together for 18 to 24 months. Each weekday, from morning to night, they engage in an intensive schedule of work, study, life-skills training, leadership development, counseling, and mentoring.
Post-Release: Back out in the community, IFI members receive 12 more months of mentoring and support, primarily from local churches and trained volunteers. This reentry component has proven critical in helping them find jobs and housing, reconnect with their families, and make a successful and long-lasting reintegration into society.
Change a Life... Change Your Community
Travis was 19 when he went to prison for assaulting his drug dealer. But that wasn’t the only injured person he left behind. “I was a very evil person, always thinking about myself,” he says. “I stole, lied, and did everything that I could do wrong to the people that loved me most.”
That same selfishness compelled him to apply to the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, hoping to shave some time off his 40-year sentence. It was just one more manipulation tactic “to try to help myself.”
But several months into the program, Travis’s attitude changed. “I had the chance to be mentored by people who really cared about me—Christian men who are a good example of how to treat their family and loved ones,” he describes. “I now have a desire to put other people first.”
And it shows. Released from prison in 2005, Travis is now married and operates his own construction business—building up rather than tearing down.
Will You Invest in a REAL Crime Stopper?
 There are many ways to get involved with IFI through volunteer service or financial support. If you choose, you may designate your gift to a specific IFI program in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, or Texas.
With your investment, many more prisoners will be able to leave prison with more than good intentions. They will leave with the values and resources to:
- Contribute positively to the community through employment and service.
- Take responsibility in caring for the needs of their family.
- Participate in local churches and other religious and civic organizations.
- Help restore safety and stability to our communities by breaking free of their old cycle of crime.
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