Happy New Year! I want to start by expressing my gratitude and admiration of my colleagues who work tirelessly to achieve excellence in meeting our goals and paving the way for justice involved people to achieve greatness! Our collaborations with BFRI, Regan Heating and Air, the Teamsters Local 251, BTO, Polaris, RINLA, IYRS, CCRI, Rob Rebussini, Jim Crisafulli, the SBA, the Director, Wardens, Counselors, and Correctional Officers, and others demonstrated how the DOC, community, educators, and employers are stronger together when they goals are clear. Best of all, it is working. We conduct progress analysis and can identify the growth in success over the past 6 years and the success of 82% of our graduates who are still home today. The return to community is not an easy one, there are many trials, heartbreaks, and setbacks. The ongoing, compassionate support of the Phoenix Project and Odyssey staff continues throughout. Our graduates continue to amaze us with the powerful desire to build a life outside the walls. We completed our 11th rounds of the Phoenix Project! We have over 300 Phoenix Project graduates who have completed our program, trained to be union workers, logistic specialists, machinists, entrepreneurs, food service experts, and more. The RI economy and workforce are more resilient and determined by your stamina!
This year we unfortunately did not receive funding from the BJA 2025 grant to support people who are justice involved. However, undeterred, in part thanks for Marina DeAngelis, we received a $15,000, one year grant, from the RI Bar Foundation! That money will support our graduates who have civil legal matters that impede their success. We also are partially funded by the Pathways Home grant with our Phoenix Odyssey program. That program is an 8 week, 16 classes, program conducted in conjunction with job training programs in welding and CNC machine certification to help people develop organizational skills, create achievable goals, create a balance fitness and nutrition program, and manage their mental health and interpersonal relationships. Our first graduating Odyssey class was a bit hectic to start and ended with laughter and gratitude! Official graduation is coming up in January.
What is next you ask? We are anticipating a final approval of our curriculum as evidence based within a month or two! That means even more can be done with more evidence to help others use our curriculum and training to create a more profound impact for justice involved people and their families. We will be holding an event to showcase our talented graduates’ artistic work and the powerful letters they write while part of the Phoenix Project. Our 2025 annual business event is in the early stages of planning so stay tuned!
Finally, the world feels more unsettled than it has ever been. We have unrest and division. Our work behind and outside the walls reinforces our commitment that goals against all odds are achievable, family is the foundation (whether it is the family you are born with or the one you create), and we are only as secure as the one who is struggling the most. We need to collaborate more with the RI State Legislature for affordable and safe housing for all. A history that is not perfect, and is sometimes wrought with poor decisions, is a setback. To use that to judge one’s character and potential for all time not only presents obstacles for that person but also for their children and our communities. If there is no reason to do anything, then there is no reason to not do something. Happy 2025! Be safe, be joyful, be helpful, and present! As you are the gift!
Kathy Carty
