DISMAS OF VERMONT INC
Reconciling Former Prisoners With Society and Society With Former Prisoners Since 1986
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Dismas House addresses the basic human needs of food and shelter. When men and women are released from prison in Vermont, they often have no money for housing, and no employment. They frequently end up living on the street. Without basic shelter, it is almost impossible to find employment or address addictions issues, and in such situations almost all former prisoners without basic shelter end up back in prison, usually within three months.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Operating 4 group homes, Dismas of Vermont provides transitional housing for men and women being released from Vermont prisons into the counties of Chittenden, Rutland, and Addison. Dismas House addresses the basic human needs of food and shelter, and employs community building activities that help residents successfully reintegrate into the greater community, and become productive members of society.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
VTARR Level 2 Recovery House Certification 2020
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Homeless people, Extremely poor people, Ex-offenders, Offenders, Unemployed people
Related Program
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Each participant is only counted once if they are in the house in overlapping years.
Number of clients engaged in the criminal justice system in the last 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ex-offenders, Offenders, Unemployed people
Related Program
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ex-offenders, Offenders
Related Program
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Meals are provided through our volunteer cook program. Cooks in during non-pendemic years ofter sit down for dinner with our residents.
Number of participants who gain employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ex-offenders, Offenders
Related Program
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of households that obtain/retain permanent housing for at least 6 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ex-offenders
Related Program
Burlington Dismas House, Rutland Dismas House, Hartford Dismas House, Winooski Dismas House
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To reduce the recidivism rate of all Residents.
To increase the success transition rate of all Residents from Dismas House to permanent stable housing.
To increase the employment rate of all Residents.
To increase the percentage of Residents who stay with Dismas more than 3 months. (We have found a significant increase in success with the above goals once an individual successfully stays with Dismas for at least 3 months.)
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our core strategy for success is being a participant in a resident's reconciliation process with their community and themselves. Dismas does this through volunteerism in the community, our volunteer cook program and family style life at the house.
In addition to this we start the conversation early on recovery, housing and employment. Our committed volunteer base is instrumental in ensure we are providing the highest level of support for our residents.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Dismas of Vermont owns one house in Burlington, Rutland and Hartford Vermont. Dismas leases an
additional house in Winooski Vermont. Each house has been renovated and is updated through our
capital improvements policy to ensure safety and a blight free home. Residents have access to plenty of
community space, and enjoy their own space as well. In addition to the above each house maintains
equipment needed to help residents work towards employment, permanent housing and many volunteer
and team building activities.
The Dismas of Vermont Volunteer Board consists of Vermont professionals from each of the communities
a Dismas House operates. The Board is responsible for all governance and programing approval. Each
Dismas House maintains a local Volunteer Council who are responsible for committee work that supports
the house in its community.
Key Staff:
Jim Curran's (Executive Director) 9 years experience in non-profit management includes many senior
level leadership roles focusing on multi-sight operations, efficiencies, and program growth and
improvements. In addition he has added trauma informed practices to residential programs resulting in
increased mission fulfillment and performance.
Richard Gagne (Winooski House Director and Program Manager) was a member of the planning group in
Burlington that worked together with Fr. Jack Hickey OP, who was the founder of the original Dismas
organization in Nashville TN. He opened our first Vermont Dismas House in the fall of 1986 and was the
first House Director. Since then he has taken on many roles and is the Program Manager and trainer for
all new House Directors.
Jeff Backus (Hartford House Director) was a correctional officer that moved through the ranks to
supervisor from 2008 – 2017, and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Administration. Jeff was
hired as Assistant House Director position in 2018, and was promoted to House Director shortly after.
Kimberly Parsons (Burlington House Director) graduated from The University of Vermont. Prior to
graduation she participated in some volunteer aid work in Central America. After graduating Kimberly
7 / 16
was a freelance photojournalist in Central America during the Contra Sandinista War and later worked
with Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugees for UNHCR. After returning to the states in 1990 she started
working for Burlington Dismas House. Kimberly has 20 years experience with former inmates and the
successful Dismas Model.
Eric Maguire (Rutland House Director) has a Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology and Religion, graduate
studies in Human Services / Criminal Justice. Eric possesses over twelve years of experience directing
reentry housing programs, assisted in the development and implementation of a men’s and women’s
reentry housing programs, and working with individuals with substance miss-use and mental health
disorders.
Dismas of Vermont uses a Results Based Accountability
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Number of Unique Individuals* 84
Number of Men/Women* M: 69 W: 13
Approximate Number of Bed Nights 12,629 (calculated)
Number of Evening Meals w/ Volunteer Cooks 941
Number of House Social Activities 192
Number of House Volunteer Activities 32
Total Community Volunteer Hours 6,179
Bed Utilization Rate 82%
% of Evening Meals w/ Volunteer Cooks 90%
% of Program Fees Collected Compared To Amount Possible 92%
% of Residents Who Stayed a Minimum of Three Months* 60%
% of Residents Who Didn’t Violate a House Rule* 46%
% Who Were Not Arrested for a New Offense* 92%
Successful Transition Rate* 64%
% of residents Who Were Employed* 74%
Dismas is currently evaluating the above metrics, and we will be adding to the list in the coming years.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
DISMAS OF VERMONT INC
Board of directorsas of 5/26/2021
Allan Sullivan
Sue Buckholz
Drew Rockwell
Alec Ewald
Kate Lark
Delores Barbeau
Jim Marmar
MaryAnne Murray
Leo Pujdak
Phil Stephan
Beth Wolven
John Crabbe, Jr.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/07/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.