RETURNING HOPE TO RETURNING CITIZENS

Our Returning Hope to Returning Citizens program is a very personalized and ongoing form of total assistance, from the time an individual walks out of prison.

The program has been incredibly successful as we have assisted returning citizens on over 7000 occasions on their path of success.

To apply you must be coming back from prison (State or Federal) in Michigan and have been out of prison (not jail) for 12 months or less at the time you apply.

You must be living in Wayne or Oakland County though we do some work in Macomb County. Once we begin helping you there is no end point when we can no longer assist. We are always available to you and provide continued help even when you are off parole.

We provide assistance as follows:

STEP LADDER PROGRAM OF WAYS WE CAN HELP

Once an application is submitted to us, we meet you in person ASAP and provide Walmart gift cards to assist you in obtaining new clothing, toiletries, food and other basic necessities that you need upon release from prison.

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We can also provide resource guides, including how to obtain a State ID or Driver's License or Social Security card or a phone or referrals for counseling or substance abuse treatment etc.

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We provide detailed referral sources for obtaining immediate employment or job training and education for skilled jobs/vocational training (welding, carpentry, electrician, HVAC, Commercial Driver License, masonry etc.).

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Once employment is obtained or schooling begins, we can provide further Walmart gift cards for additional needs, including work clothing etc.

We can also address transportation issues you may be having in getting to work or school.

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If you have a particular skill and your job requires specific tools or equipment, we can obtain those items for you. Similarly, if you are in school we can assist with any school related needs.

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The next step is helping you move into a home/apartment of your own when you have saved $1000.00 from employment (or from disability payments). We can then provide you our Housing Resource Guide which has leads and listings of available housing from apartments to houses/flats or rooms to rent as we seek to match your needs and income level in finding the best housing situation for you.

For help with move in costs, you can’t be working for a staffing or a temporary employment agency who has placed you somewhere to work. Your must be a direct hire where you are working.

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Once a residence is found and your approval as a tenant has been accomplished, we will email some questions to help us determine if it is a good fit and the rent etc. will be doable based on the your income, monthly bills etc.

If all is good, we can usually go 50/50 on the move-in costs of first month rent and the security deposit (up to a maximum of $1000.00 from us).

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We can next help with your furniture needs (full size mattress, box spring and frame, nightstand, lamp, couch and small dining room table with two chairs) and home furnishings (dishes, glasses, silverware, pots/pans, sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, mattress pad, pillowcases etc.)

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After you are living in your own place with your name on the lease, working 35 or more hours per week, and you find that transportation is a barrier in getting to work, we can help qualified individuals by providing a used vehicle.

This is all done through our Working Cars for Working People program and on that page of our website you can read the requirements you must meet to qualify for that sub-program.

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Lastly, we provide help in a variety of other ways including (to qualifying individuals) back rent, car repairs, utilities, eyeglasses, phone bills, bicycles, car notes, car insurance, cable bills, bus passes, gasoline cards, food assistance, work tools/equipment, computers for work or school, professional test taking fees, etc.

We work with returning citizens from the day they are released from prison and we maintain a very personal relationship at every step of the way as he/she moves forward on his or her path to success.

And we remain in close contact at all times for any means of assistance we can provide when an emergency situation arises.

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PLEASE NOTE: Here to Help assists those returning from a Michigan prison (State or Federal), not jail, and living in either Wayne or Oakland County, though we do some work in Macomb County so contact us if you live there. This program is for those coming back from prison in the prior 12 months. If you were released from a prison sentence more than a year ago and were returned to prison or jail as a result of a parole violation and more recently released then you would not meet our requirements.

We will continue to work with you for as long as you ever need help even after your parole is over.

BEGIN INITIAL APPLICATION

Can you Help Me?

If you are coming back from prison please contact one of 3 ways below and we will provide information on how to apply for our immediate and ongoing assistance.