US: Prison Fellowship Ministry Hosts Groundbreaking Summit of Philanthropic Leaders to “Unlock the Potential of Those Affected by Incarceration”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Looking for ways to “unlock the potential of those affected by incarceration,” philanthropic leaders from diverse American companies, foundations, and non-profits recently participated in a groundbreaking summit convened by the Prison Fellowship US Christian ministry in Houston, Texas. The summit was titled the First and Second Chances Philanthropy Council and was hosted by Prison Fellowship together with the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity on Sept. 23.

Prison Fellowship was founded by Chuck Colson, the former White House counsel who served time in prison for Watergate, and is now one of America’s leading advocates for second chances for former prisoners. The ministry works with government agencies, foundations, and businesses to provide opportunities for those reentering society from incarceration.

“Through many years of experience supporting children with incarcerated parents, Prison Fellowship has discovered that providing the right opportunities can help these kids overcome their challenging environment and thrive,” Amanuel Mengistu explains in a Prison Fellowship website report. “A growing coalition of corporate and nonprofit partners have agreed with this approach, recognizing that providing both first chances and second chances is the best way to help communities affected by incarceration,” Mengistu says.

“Most people see the criminal justice reform space as just a linear spectrum from prevention to aftercare, but the truth of the matter is … that it is a cycle,” Dr. Marvin Carr, director, Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity and co-chair of the council, stated at the beginning of the summit. “The vast majority of philanthropic funding, of corporate funding, of policy work focuses on the end of that cycle: decarceration, combating recidivism, second-chance hiring. But if you don’t go upstream to solve for the reason that more people of color, more folks in rural spaces, more and more women are … being incarcerated in the first place, we will never solve the actual problem.”

Having had its inaugural meeting in September, the First and Second Chances Philanthropy Council was founded in order to try and solve the problems facing former prisoners through building a “coalition of partners to help disrupt cycles of incarceration and spark generational transformation,” the Prison Fellowship attests in a website statement.

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