Renascence Inc.

The mission of Renascence is to restore men released on probation or parole by assisting them to successfully reintegrate into our community. Since 2006, Renascence has provided over 460 men from all over the state with stable, affordable, drug-free housing and a structured program that requires them to set goals, take action, and be accountable.

Renascence provides certain benefits and responsibilities for its residents.
Benefits:
• Safe housing, clothing, food, some transportation, supervision, recovery support groups, life skills training, and access to some job opportunities and to a variety of services according to their specific needs.
• Communal living support and accountability.
• Effectiveness. Most graduates remain out of prison.
Responsibilities:
• Attend full-time the nearby Day Reporting Center of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles or find full-time employment or a full-time combination of work and education and volunteer service.
• Pay on child-support and victim’s compensation obligations and contribute 25% of employment or pension income to Renascence.
• Abide by all house rules, share in household chores, and support fellow residents with a positive attitude and example.
• Attend all house meetings and certain evening meals. There is a nightly curfew for all.

Renascence benefits many people beyond the residents:
• The families of residents, by helping them reconnect in healthy, responsible ways
• Employers, by providing them with workers who are sober, rested, fed, and supported
• The Montgomery community, by providing a stable home and individual support for men who might otherwise be casting about
• Alabama taxpayers, for whom Renascence currently saves $23,360 per year (ADOC 2019) for each man who would otherwise be in prison.

As expressed in our 2018-2020 Strategic Plan (attached), Renascence has had the following strategic priorities for several years.
I. Program Improvement
a. Residents: increased case management, individual testing, and mental health counseling
b. Staffing; increased hiring capacity; case management and accountability training
c. Housing Maintenance; exterior repair/repainting; interior plumbing repairs, painting; etc.
II. Funding & Strategic Partnerships
a. Community engagement and perception
b. Grants, contracts, and RFP’s
III. Board Development
a. Recruiting experienced Board members with areas of expertise
b. Commitment to Board diversity

Our Board of Directors (currently 11 members) is competent and dedicated, representing a wide range of employment experience and skills and a wide range of years serving Renascence. We are recruiting new members for an even greater diversity of age and gender and race.

Our staff leaders (House Supervisor, Administrative assistant) have proven effective over many years, and more recent hires at House Manager have been competent and reliable.

Renascence is greatly challenged by the high cost of running a residential re-entry program. Payroll for our dedicated staff (on duty 24/7), expensive insurances, and high utility bills make up 75% of our budget, yet most foundation grants do not fund salaries, insurance, and utilities. Funding over the years has come largely from individual donors, area churches, and family foundations, supplemented by a few major foundation grants, a fall annual appeal, Charity Bingo, and our spring community fundraiser. Both the need for our services and our good track record in recent years have made Renascence a preferred provider for state and local pardons and parole agencies.

Our outreach efforts have been informing the public of the desirability of our halfway home -- and its rarity in Alabama. There is increasing understanding by all stakeholders of the societal and financial benefit of Renascence for the residents, the taxpayers, and the community in achieving productive citizens, reduced recidivism, and lower costs.

Renascence has made steady progress in the areas of strategic priority stated above.

Funding
Our funding strategy has been to improve the research and writing of applications for grants and RFPs. The fundraising committee over the last several years has developed grant writing skills and proficiency. In 2020 and 2021 we applied for several grants from federal, state, and foundation sources. We received funds from six foundations to which we applied and have been told two more such grants will come in 2022. We applied for and received four Covid relief grants.

In 2018, pursuing an RFP, Renascence won a contract with the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) to provide halfway home services for parolees attending their local Day Reporting Center (DRC), up to ten men at a time. In 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 the contract was renewed. This steady income has made a significant difference, even though at its fullest extent it covers no more than a quarter of our budget.

Program
• The contract with ABPP provides our DRC residents with classes in life skills, GED preparation, and drug-free living and some counseling. Independently, we have contracted professional services to help provide case management, individual testing, and mental health counseling (individual and group). In the last two years an excellent social worker has helped the adaptation and retention of a good number of men. A Leadership Montgomery team has undertaken renovation of our Art room and revival of our art program, with a teacher.
• We have gradually provided more and various staff accountability trainings and two increments in pay rate.
• We contracted and completed (2020) badly needed exterior repair and repainting of our big, Victorian house. (We raised most of the required funds through application for grants and a direct appeal to donors.) Also completed have been the replacement of the main shower room floor, some interior repainting, floor refinishing, some roof repair, installation of exterior stair handrails, and installation of security cameras. In 2023 we applied for two different grants to help with various non-routine but necessary maintenance projects. We received one of them for $10,000 and are awaiting word on the other.

Board
Recent additions to the Board include a Treasurer, a white male CPA with much experience in nonprofit boards and a passion for addiction recovery work, an African-American male vehicle maintenance manager with the USPS, and an African-American female professional fundraiser for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Our vision is to expand, as the need is great. The home we own is at capacity, so we need to explore other options for expansion. For now, we want to make our existing program as strong as possible, to help future success.