Team Mentoring:

The Reentry Project assigns a mentor team of three people to integrate one inmate into society. Before working with an inmate, the mentors participate in a training program which consists of two full-days of coursework and two evening sessions. Once finished, the mentors meet every other month for additional sessions and support.

Beginning three to six months before an inmate’s release, the team begins establishing a relationship that will help the prisoner prepare for a new life outside of prison. A major focus is to assist the inmate in assessing his/her needs and identifying goals which will lead the individual to a successful reintegration. Once released from jail, the team continues to meet and support the man/woman for a year.

A MENTOR IS:

•An emotionally stable and mature person.
•Willing to and capable of working on a team.
•Able to understand and empathize with their Mentee.
• Willing to share their faith.
•Comfortable with themselves and who they are.
•Able to see the Mentee as a separate person with different needs and goals, and is comfortable with those differences.
• Able to set reasonable standards of performance and realistic in their expectations.
•Approved for access to the Philadelphia Prison System.

If interested, please contact Laura Ford, Administrator of the Prison Ministry Program, at lford@adphila.org or 215-331-3640.

A Mentor Application can be downloaded here.

An article by the Catholic Standard & Times on the Mentoring Project can be downloaded here.