Source: The Buddhist Channel
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=65,3568,0,0,1,0
Berkeley, CA (USA) -- The Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), the nation’s first socially engaged Buddhist organization, announced that it has received a $15,000 grant from the San Francisco Foundation to help launch “Coming Home,” an innovative new spiritually-based project that will serve ex-prisoners and the greater San Francisco Bay Area community.
BPF Board President Anchalee Kurutach said, “We are honored that the San Francisco Foundation has expressed its support for the Coming Home Initiative. The Foundation has a strong commitment to transform the criminal justice system, and we believe we have developed a much needed spiritually grounded approach that supports this goal.”
Coming Home: Designed to Empower Individuals and the Community California’s parole system and reentry programs have been unable to meet the core challenges people face when leaving prison. In California, 71% percent of parolees end up back in prison within 18 months. There are only 200 shelter beds for 10,000 homeless parolees, four mental health clinics for 18,000 parolees diagnosed with mental illness, and 750 treatment beds for 85,000 people released with substance addictions. Over 70% of formerly incarcerated people are unemployed.
Clearly, there is a critical need to develop holistic alternatives that address the complex challenges facing both those returning home and the community. The Coming Home Initiative was envisioned to meet this need, and specifically to serve those who began a meditation practice while incarcerated.