The California Reentry Program (CRP) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with the mission of helping

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

prisoners successfully reenter society. It has operated in San Quentin State Prison since 2003 when Allyson West, an algebra teacher at San Quentin at the time, helped one inmate with the reentry process and realized the importance of reentry work and the lack of ability or interest of the state to reduce

recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

. Working with San Quentin and recruiting volunteers, West founded the California Reentry Program which has helped several thousand prisoners so far. CRP's mission is to help all California prisoners, but due to lack of resources, it only operates in San Quentin. CRP incorporated in 2007 and received non-profit status in 2008. CRP has roughly 25 volunteers and helps about 150-200 clients per month. The primary service offered by CRP is reentry advising ranging from helping clients with one question to helping clients make a long-term plan for reentry. This is a critical service because California prisoners have no

Internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

and very limited contact with the outside world. CRP also runs a

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

clothing program which gets donated clothing for prisoners upon release to provide an alternative to the $38 gray sweatsuits prisoners must purchase upon release otherwise.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.ca-reentry.org Non-profit organizations based in California