The Caddo Sheriff's Office will host a recognition and appreciation ceremony for volunteers of the Northwest Regional Re-entry Program at 11 a.m. today, March 17, at Caddo Correctional Center.
Re-entry is a pilot program conducted by the Caddo Sheriff's Office for the State of Louisiana, Department of Corrections. Its purpose is to reduce crime and provide offenders who are soon to be released with fundamental resources in basic education, job skills training, substance abuse treatment and values development.
About 100 volunteers currently participate in the Caddo Parish re-entry program, said Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator. Included are clergymen, court officials, law enforcement officers, social workers, business leaders, financial planners, school officials, and service organizations. (See below for a complete list.)
"Volunteers conduct programs for re-entry participants almost on a daily basis," Prator said. "One day people in the program may learn financial planning, and the next day they may hear from someone who owns their own business. It's the experience these professionals bring to the program that makes it successful and helps us meet the goals of preventing unemployment and recidivism."
Caddo's re-entry program started on July 3, 2009. Since then, 203 participants have graduated. In the first year of operation, only one offender returned to jail.
Today's ceremony will include remarks from Sheriff Prator, a proclamation from Bernadine Anderson of the Shreveport Mayor's Office, a resolution from City Councilwoman Rose McCulloch, and a special award presentation for volunteers.
Prator said he hopes the ceremony will help call attention to the re-entry program and encourage other mentors to become involved.
For more information about the re-entry program, contact Director David Boone at 677-5254 ext. 5220 or Manager Sandra Darby at ext. 5227.
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Volunteer List
Re-entry volunteers include:members of clergy, local elected officials, state representatives, people of faith, law enforcement officers, court officials, social workers, Goodwill Industry, Shreveport Federal Credit Union, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, Shreveport/Bossier Rescue Mission, Louisiana Small Business Development Center, financial planners, school officials, local college/university recruiters, DHH-Office of Addictive Disorders, employment agencies, Louisiana Workforce Commission, mentors, legal services, judges, attorneys, the Social Security Administration, Volunteers of America, Support Enforcement Services, Community Development Agencies, health facilities, homeless services, the YWCA, Providence House, City of Faith, Recovery Centers, Think First of the Ark-La-Tex, Department of Motor Vehicles, counselors, State Farm Insurance, medical professionals, contractors, citizens, and local business leaders.
