PROGRAMS

EMPWR (Embracing My Personal Worth and Resiliency – This 40-contact hour program was created by Released and Restored to assist incarcerated women with learning how to become more self-confident, self-controlled, self-directed, self-sustaining, and self-EMPWR’d. This increases the likelihood of a successful and productive return to their families and communities post-release.

Life Skills/Re-Entry Prep – This 40-contact hour program developed by Released and Restored prepares individuals to obtain and maintain gainful employment post-release. The primary focus is assisting individuals in addressing the distorted thinking that caused job loss and unhealthy behavior in the past. In addition, the program assists individuals with interview prep via mock interviews, resume building, job retention, and basic money management.

Planning with Purpose – This is our flagship program. The focus of this 40-contact hour program is on teaching critical thinking skills, and exploring how faith practices influence constructive decision making.

Job Readiness/Life Skills- This 15-contact hour program developed by Released and Restored is designed specifically for jail inmates who are serving shorter sentences. The program prepares individuals to obtain and maintain gainful employment post release, teaches basic money management skills, and address landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities.

Re-Entry Support – Once men and women have been released they often need additional assistance to find their way back to the moral, ethical, and legal lives they strive for. This service works to help them schedule job interviews, focus on strengthening healthy behaviors in order to stay out of prison, and provide links to other local service providers.

EMPWR

We at Released & Restored know that there are many different obstacles for incarcerated women. EMPWR aims to help women work through these obstacles to break the cycle of abuse and incarceration.

EMPWR class was created to provide women with the tools to become:

  • Self-confident
  • Self-controlled
  • Self-directed
  • Self-sustaining
  • Self-EMPWR’d

By completing this program, it is our hope that each woman has the ability to chart, and direct the course of her own life.

EMPWR is currently provided at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (NCCW) in York, NE and the Community Correctional Center-Lincoln (CCC-L).

Life Skills/Re-Entry Prep

This intensive 40 contact-hour program is provided to individuals inside various prison facilities. Individuals are prepared to obtain and maintain gainful, long-term employment. In addition, this program teaches other life skills that are necessary not only on the job, but for day-to-day living as well. This includes learning skills such as:

  • Empathy
  • Team-Building
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Anger Management
  • Coping Skills

In addition, individuals will learn:

  • How to answer questions about their felony openly and honestly
  • How to create an open and honest cover-letter that addresses the felony conviction
  • About the federal income tax credits and federal bonding available to employers who hire felons
  • A simple way to save money from each paycheck
  • An easy system for paying bills on-time
  • How to keep a checking account balanced
  • How to obtain and maintain good credit history

JOBS READINESS/LIFE SKILLS

Job Readiness/Life Skills is provided to women and men at the Adult Detention Facility, the Lancaster County Jail.

This 15-contact hour program prepares individuals to obtain and maintain gainful employment, teaches basic money management skills, and addresses landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities.

The Jobs Readiness portion of the program prepares individuals for job interviews through an intensive mock interview process. This section also teaches individuals how to conduct job searches, apply for jobs on-line, and how to create and update resumes.

The Life Skills portion of the class teaches individuals the basic money-management skills of creating and living within a budget, keeping a checking account in balance, and the importance of setting aside money regularly in a savings account. In addition, this section also addresses landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities.

This course also teaches individuals to develop self-control and how to avoid triggers that lead to re-incarceration. Participants address what leads them to jail or prison and how to combat these factors.

PLANNING WITH PURPOSE

This 40-contact hour program teaches critical thinking and explores how various faith practices influence things such as: goal setting; making positive and constructive choices; having a reasoned response rather than a rash reaction to stressful situations; appropriate conflict resolution skills; and how to create a plan for living a moral, ethical, and legal life in the community after release. This program works to help replace the old and destructive thought processes with new and constructive thinking skills. It also teaches practical steps to apply those newly learned thinking skills to real life situations

For those serving longer sentences, this program is about learning that they too have a purpose and by learning new and constructive ways of thinking they may be intentionally purposeful in contributing positively to the community in which they live, inside the institution.

RE-ENTRY SUPPORT

Once women and men have been released, they begin the journey of re-entry. This is a rocky road in the beginning. Released and Restored is here to assist them as they move past incarceration into productive, moral, ethical, and legal lives. We provide assistance in obtaining a job, accessing community resources, and a safe space to ground themselves when they are spinning out of control.

We work closely with Nebraska businesses informing them of an untapped labor pool comprised of individuals who are eager and willing to work hard. Individuals who have completed any of our programs are dependable employees who are an asset to any employer fortunate enough to hire them.

Volunteers from the Nebraska business community are guest speakers for many sessions in our program. This ensures that skills relevant to becoming a good employee are taught to the men and women participating in our programs.