Inside prisons
Our Hope and Redemption Team (HART) works with currently incarcerated individuals to provide the support and services they need through this period.
10 YEARS OF HOPE
Rebuilding lives and making communities safer
The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)'s
mission is to end mass incarceration
ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change.
The long lasting and resulting impact is making our communities safe, healthy, and whole.
A message from Scott Budnick
American film producer and Founder of ARC
ARC in a Nutshell
A Healthier and Safer Community
Sam Lewis' perspective
Executive Director of ARC
A vision for
the next ten years
We recently celebrated our tenth anniversary and are immensely proud of our achievements and continued impact of our mission. As we look to the next ten years, we remain steadfast on continuing to build on three core initiatives:
Prevention work
To truly effect change in our criminal legal system, we need to stop the flow and overcriminalization of incarceration. In our next phase, ARC is emphasizing preventive care so we can stop individuals, especially our youth, from entering the correctional system. The goal is to enhance our team’s ability to provide support and guidance during these transitional periods which has a profound impact on keeping individuals from continuing down a harmful path – for both themselves, their families, and their communities.
Enhanced housing and ARC Hub
Providing housing to those in need has a major impact on the ability to help individuals successfully reenter society post-incarceration. The goal is to acquire more housing facilities across the state of California and build an ARC Hub for Members to have a safe place to thrive and receive the support they need.
Replicate in other jurisdictions
ARC’s success in California can and should be replicated nationwide. The goal is to reach into other jurisdictions and provide a roadmap with playbooks for other organizations and states to follow. This includes empowering youth to spearhead and participate in legislative work and advocacy programs.
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Reentry Starts Inside
What makes ARC unique is our 360 approach: we help individuals from the time they enter the criminal legal system to everyday support after reentry.
Reentry
Post-release, ARC Members receive many supportive services including mentorship & life coaching, housing, and employment.
Lifelong community
ARC is first and foremost a community organization with over 2,500 Members. We’re proud to offer a lifetime of connections, services, and support at every step.
Inside prisons
Our Hope and Redemption Team (HART) works with currently incarcerated individuals to provide the support and services they need through this period.
PROGRAMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Since 2013, we developed and grew many programs to aid in the various life stages experienced by both incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, including:
REENTRY SERVICES
Ride Home
This program helps ease the transition for individuals returning home from incarceration by providing a ride home from prison, meeting them at the gate the moment they walk free. Learn More
Housing
This program provides transitional housing to formerly incarcerated individuals, providing them the opportunity to get back on their feet, transition back into society, and build a community with others. It also includes assistance with finding permanent housing.
VTC
The Ventura Training Center (VTC) is a unique and innovative 18-month residential program that provides the opportunity to develop rehabilitation life skills, job readiness, professional experience, firefighter training & certifications, and much more.
Workforce Placement
This program offers many partnerships with leading businesses for internships and full-time employment. It includes the Apprenticeship Readiness Program which is an 11-week cohort in which Members learn the fundamentals of construction with our partners, the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades, and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Building Trades support us with job placements into union apprenticeships, while LAUSD supports us in teaching the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum.
INSIDE WORK
HART
The Hope and Redemption Team (HART) is comprised of formerly incarcerated staff members who lead rehabilitative programming and reentry support in every prison in California.
Credible Messenger
We have provided mentoring, rehabilitative, and reentry services for incarcerated Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) since 2015 and operate in 26 California state prisons, four Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities, and both male and female county juvenile detention facilities across the state. Our Transformative Mentoring program employs credible messenger mentoring, one of the most effective methods of intervention for justice-involved youth and all our Life Coach mentors are formerly incarcerated
POLICY & ADVOCACY
Policy Change
Our policy team works with state and national legislators and politicians to advance real change, spearheaded by formerly incarcerated people, that bring hope to hundreds of thousands of system-impacted people.
Advocacy
Through our grassroots policy advocacy work, we are dedicated to transforming the criminal legal system so that it is more just and equitable for all people.
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IMPACT REPORT
ARC’s decade of work and service to the community has produced an array of vital and tangible results from thousands of lives impacted to 33 pieces of legislation passed, to hosting 20 retreats and wilderness experiences, providing housing for hundreds, and job placement for close to 300 people.
Read the Impact Report
DOWNLOADARC’s Impact Highlights
2,500+
ARC Members.
50,000+
currently incarcerated people impacted through Hope and Redemption Team.
33
California state bills passed - and counting.
78%
of ARC staff members are formerly incarcerated.
71%
job placement rate for those enrolled in our Second Chance Pre-Apprenticeship Program.
300+
formerly incarcerated participants in ARC's Venture Training Center program.
Prison System Statistics
~50%
or almost half of the money spent on running the correctional system goes to paying staff, who are an influential lobby that sometimes prevents reform.
~$13.6 billion
spent on local jails with the majority of costs going to detaining people who have not been convicted.
$182 billion
per year or more is spent by the government and justice-involved families on the system of mass incarceration.
57%
of state government spending goes to the correctional system, with local governments making up almost a third or 32%.
100 times
or more is the ratio of the government payroll for corrections employees compared to the private prison industry's profits.
Services that result in success
In addition to our programs, we offer a comprehensive suite of services which provide assistance at every step, including:
- Mental health and wellness services
- Continued education
- Life skills workshops
- Financial independence workshops
- Mentorship
- Housing
- Retreats
- Jobs placement
Read the 1-Pager
DOWNLOADHelping community members
become thriving members
of society
Helping community members become thriving members
of society
Our programs and services are geared to all system-impacted people. Our members are representative of all ages, sex and races. Our focus is on breaking the cycle of incarceration and providing individuals with a new pathway in life.
Youth
From 13 years old to early twenties, we work with youth and their families who are impacted by incarceration. Our goal is to support and mentor individuals in order to get them past this stage as they reenter society and move on to live productive lives.
Adults
We work with adults from first-time offenders to people sentenced to Life Without Parole (LWOP). We support them while inside with our Hope and Redemption team and then with wraparound reentry services once released to ensure they find housing, employment, and develop important skills to help them navigate life post-release.
Changing Lives
ARC has been privileged to be part of changing many lives. These are just a few…
Esteban Nunez
Chief Strategy Consultant & Lobbyist
Shone Robinson
Life Coach
Norma Cumpian
Director, Women's Department
Charity Chandler-Cole
Former ARC Board Member
Kenzo Sohoue
ARC Member
Michael Hawk
Program Manager, Lorena Housing
Our resolve and commitment is stronger than ever! We are steadily improving our programs and services to maintain the momentum towards making our communities safe, healthy, and more whole:
- Growing educational programs
- Expanding services to Members in and out of prison
- Increasing transitional housing
- Adding more jobs to build long-lasting careers
- Creating safer communities
- Changing the narrative
- Driving legislative changes
None of this is possible without the support of our generous donors.
Join the movement and be part of our growing success.
DONATE TODAYFind out more about our use of funds and details behind your donation.
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