From The Ashes

Our interactive newsletter, "From The Ashes," serves as a vital communication link to individuals within the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Through Corrlinks, the BOP's internal email system, we've been sending positivity and hope for the past three years.​

At its inception, we experimented with various content, including commissary recipes and movie reviews, but the response was lukewarm. Over time, we adapted the newsletter to include articles we believed would resonate with our audience. The challenges faced inside are shared, and we offer relevant news and information.​

"From The Ashes" is integral to our work, as it serves as our primary means of communication with individuals seeking assistance from within prison. We encourage interaction, and many readers ask for specific information or news articles. For instance, when Colette Peters assumed the role of BOP Director, we promptly provided updates.

Despite limitations (plain text and 13,000 characters), we've recently received positive feedback for our special issues, focusing on topics such as Technology and Entertainment. These issues provide unique information not found in mainstream media, offering valuable learning opportunities.

It's within "From The Ashes" that we initiate our intake and needs assessment processes, building vital connections for growth and change. This is where word-of-mouth recommendations lead to new readers joining our newsletter. Ultimately, we use this platform to assist individuals in filling out paperwork for correspondence courses and preparing resumes for release, often with the prospect of job interviews.

Our mission is to provide every opportunity for those willing to make an effort to change. "From The Ashes" is the cornerstone of our work, connecting individuals and fostering transformation from the inside out.

The Flight Plan

The Flight Plan is our primary reentry program. Early on, sometimes a year or more before their release, we start creating a reentry success plan. We do a comprehensive needs assessment, getting into the nuts and bolts of what it's going to take for them to make it outside without resorting to criminal activiy, recognizing in advance, the steps that lead to making that decision.ontent and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors.​

As we're building this reentry success plan, we're reaching out to non-profit organizations in the city they're releasing to. We call and talk to them, building that connection and finding someone there with justice experience that our person releasing will have some common ground with.​

As their release date approaches, we make sure the person releasing has a phone number for us and for the person they'll be working with post-release. The person they'll be meeting has been given enough information about our new release that they can hit the ground running.​

This pre- to post-release, wraparound support style is being used by other organizations such as our Carolina neighbors, Jumpstart Prison Ministries. They start working with people still on the inside and they have a 96% success rate.

Fundraising

While inside, I saw people paying for texting services, call forwarding and even providing search results. I, personally used Phone Donkey, a for profit company that provides an inmate with a phone number that is local to the facility they're in. This allowed my family and I to pay six cents per minute for local phone calls, as opposed to 21 cents per minute for long distance.

We don't really like seeing corporations profiting off of our misfortune and struggle so we decided to turn the tables on them and offer this service ourselves, issuing 100% of the profits to Phoenix Reentry Resources. This way, at least some of the money spent will go towards something we all care about, programs to help our loved ones inside.

Soon, we'll be launching My Phoenix Services. It will be a professional, state of the art services platform, allowing you to sign up for our call forwarding service, or any other services we are able to provide.

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