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Vol 1 No 2 October 1998
Golden Valley Facility Mortgage Paid In Full This June, 1998 the final payment was made on the mortgage for Damascus Way's facility at 5730 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, Minnesota. Damascus Way has used this two-story facility as a live-in reentry center for men leaving prison since April of 1979. The 4000 square foot building, which was originally a small rest home, has served as a live-in home for 16 residents and two staff. The organization is now considering plans for a new, larger facility to meet the growing needs and numbers of men reentering society after serving a prison sentence.
Furniture Restoration Building Sold In Cash Sale
On July 17, 1998, Damascus Way closed on the cash sale of property located at 905 West Broadway in Minneapolis, property that they have owned since 1981. The property was originally purchased with the help of the McKnight Foundation of Saint Paul, Minnesota, to house a work training program operated by Damascus Way for nine years. The program was began at a time when it was close to impossible for men leaving prison to find work without a job referral. Many of the men coming to Damascus Way at that time had not worked for many years or had a very poor work record. The work program at first consisted mainly of furniture stripping and refinishing. In later years furniture upholstery was added. In 1989 the program was discontinued and the building was sold on a contract for deed with a balloon payment in 1994. When the balloon payment was due the buyer was unable to produce the cash and walked away from the property leaving Damascus Way with taxes and other bills due. Since 1994 Damascus Way has leased the property to the individual who eventually purchased the building on the seventeenth. The cash from this sale will go into a building fund to help prepare the ministry future expansion.
In 1981 there were 340,000 in state and federal prisons by 1984 that number had risen to 480,000. By the early1990's that population had grown to 723,236 with another 405,935 inmates in city and county jails. The prison population has significantly increased with each year until last year *State and Federal prisons held about 1.2 million prisoners at midyear 1997. * Local jails held or supervised about 637,000 adults who were awaiting trial or serving a sentence at midyear 1997. * 5.5 million people were on probation, in jail or prison, or on parole at year end 1996, nearly 2.8% of all U.S. adult residents.
Program Directors Report by Kevin Callaghan
We recently reviewed our statistics for 1997, and we served a total of 83 men in the main program in '97, a 34% increase over the 62 clients served in 1996. The average length of stay in the program was about two months long. 95% of the men entering in 1997 were unemployed, and almost 70% of these men were successful in getting a job or getting into school. It took only an average of 14 days for these men to find jobs, and the average starting pay was $8.13 per hour. Thirty-five percent of all men entering the program in 1997 successfully graduated, which is actually a significant number when you consider the population we serve, and also when you compare this to other similar programs and forms of treatment. Over half of our 1997 graduates, to our knowledge, remain drug and crime free at this point-which is also significant considering that all recent studies of ex-offenders show that only one-third remain drug or crime free just six months after release from prison. This would suggest that our program does have an impact on the men-our graduates are 15% less likely to re-offend or relapse as non-graduates. We are continuously trying to improve our services and programming here at Damascus Way. Recently we have taken a new house chaplain on board, Pastor David Newton who has years of experience running the discipleship programs at Union Gospel Mission. Pastor Dave teaches at our Thursday evening Bible study, and is available one additional evening a week for personal counseling or guidance. We have begun to have a weekly chapel service every Friday evening and this service is lead by a new volunteer, Mike Lyman, who works full-time at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Please keep us in your prayers!!
Q. What is "Simplified Giving" or Electronic Contribution? A. Electronic Contribution is an automatic deduction from your checking or savings account for the collection of your contribution. Q. What is the advantage of Electronic Contribution? It saves time! It simplifies your life! You can make your contribution without having to write a check or put postage on an envelope. Q. How can you take money out of my account? A. Only with your authorization. No one is allowed to deduct money form your account automatically unless you specifically authorize it. Q. When will my Electronic Contribution be taken out of my account? A. Electronic Contribution will be deducted from your account weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. You specify your choice on the authorization form. Q. If I don't write checks, how do I keep my checkbook balance straight? A. Your contribution is made on a pre-established day, so you can deduct it from your check record then. Q. Without canceled checks, how can I keep record of the amount I have contributed? A. Your bank statement gives you an itemized list of automatic deductions form your account. It's your way of keeping record. It also makes reconciling your checking or savings account easier. Q. Is Electronic Contribution risky? I don't want mistakes made in my bank account. A. Electronic Contribution is less risky than checks. It can't be lost, stolen or destroyed in the mail, and it has an extremely high rate of accuracy. Q. What if I change banks or accounts? A, Notify us and we'll give you a change form to fill out. Q. How much does Electronic Contribution cost? A. It doesn't cost money. It saves money! There is no charge for the Electronic Contribution service and you save the cost of checks and postage. Q. What if I try Electronic Contribution and don't like it? A. You can cancel your authorization for electronic contribution at any time by notifying us in writing. Q. How do I sign up for Electronic Contribution? A. Check the box on your response card and a enrollment form will be sent to you or call Roger Cramer at: 612-866-0462.
Check us out on the WEB at: http://www.damascusway.com |
We have been busier than
ever here at Damascus Way. August was one of the busiest months in recent times, with ten
new men entering the program and four men graduating and moving on. We have been averaging
about 20-21 inquiries from prospective clients and nine interviews with new clients each
month. Our average census so far for 1998 has been 88% of bed capacity, up from 80% for
1997.