Through a complex, multimodal approach, Volunteers of America empowers its Look Up and Hope participants with the skills, relationships, and resilience they need to transcend the devastating effects of poverty and incarceration.
OUR PURPOSE IS TO PRESERVE FAMILIES WHENEVER POSSIBLE
Volunteers of America helps families to create and maintain economic stability. We encourage and foster positive family relationships, provide emotional support for children who suffer from disruption caused by incarcerations, and support school success. In turn we hope to prevent juvenile delinquency, which often stems from the troubled environment caused by a parent's incarceration. We serve the whole family to create a collective healing process for everyone.
Our communities and the nation have a huge stake in the successful reentry of incarcerated mothers after they serve their sentences. These mothers, along with their children and caregivers, are our neighbors. We provide a network of stability and reduce the rate of recidivism by helping the previously incarcerated become healthy, contributing members of society. Through these efforts, children can find another path and reduce the probability that children with incarcerated parents may enter the criminal justice system.
Support services offered to clients of Look Up and Hope include the following:
- Vocational training and employment services
- Educational programming and support for all family members
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Mental health and substance abuse treatment
- Group and family counseling
- Life-skills and parenting classes
- Caregiver support groups
- Graduated visitation opportunities
- Family-centered assessments
- Strengths-based service planning
- Mentoring
Contact Shannon Schumacher at sschumacher@voain.org or (317) 686-5800.
