Residential Program

DAMASCUS WAY REENTRY CENTER

Mission Statement:

Damascus Way seeks to provide a structured, caring, Christian-oriented program that will enable adult males involved in the correctional system to remain crime- and chemical-free, while assisting them in addressing their personal issues and meeting their individual goals, in order to assure their successful integration as productive citizens serving God and their communities.

Objectives:

	To assist ex-offenders in becoming responsible, contributing members of the community
	To provide the community a safe, low-risk, well-monitored vehicle for re-integrating ex-offenders into their midst.
	To provide the state and county correctional systems a well-structured, cost-effective, high-quality reentry program with effective monitoring and reporting systems.

Location:

Damascus Way is an 18-bed residential reentry program located at 5730 Olson Memorial Highway in Golden Valley, just West of downtown Minneapolis. The programs suburban location is conveniently situated near two main bus lines into downtown.

Description of Services:

The program consists of a variety of services and functions together with 24-hour supervision and monitoring of all residents.

Programming and services include:

	Room and Board, including laundry facilities
	Weekly Accountability Group
	Daily and weekly spiritual groups and activities
	Case Management services
	Individual counseling
	Organized group recreational activities
	Employment Assistance

Supervision and monitoring consist of:

Monitoring residents leaving and returning to the facility via a specified sign-out protocol

Monitoring residents movements in the community via a specified call-in protocol, verified by caller-ID and the Voice-Track Biometric Voice Tracking System

Enforcing daily curfews

	Overnight security via bed-checks and a facility alarm and video system
	Facility rounds and room checks

	Regular drug testing via urinalysis and breathalyzer tests
	Employment hours verified by regular call-ins and review of pay-stubs

Program Completion:

Successful completion of the program involves:

Completion of a minimum of 60 days

	Satisfactory progress on goals
	Full-time employment
	Establishing a support network
	Being chemically-free

	No major program violations in the last 14 days in the program
	Having an acceptable Release Plan

The staff of Damascus Way are trained and experienced professionals, including those licensed in ministry. The staff have extensive experience in the rehabilitation of individuals with criminal and chemical-dependency backgrounds.

Referrals are made to the program from prison caseworkers, parole and probation agents, county public defenders and dispositional advisors, prison and jail chaplains, social workers, and also self-referrals. Damascus Way accepts both legally mandated and voluntary clients.

Damascus Way Reentry Center is a division of the Greater Minnesota Association of Evangelicals (GMAE Ministries). Founded in 1974, Damascus Way was established as a private, 501 c (3) organization to attempt to counter the high recidivism rate by helping offenders through the difficult period of transition after release. Damascus Way has been licensed by the Department of Corrections since 1981, and has had a Work Release contract since 1989, and a Supervised Release contract since 1990.

For further information:

Damascus Way Reentry Center

5730 Olson Memorial Highway

Golden Valley, MN 55422

Phone: 763-545-6558

FAX: 763-545-7672

Collect calls from jails and prisons are accepted.

Visit our website at: www.damascusway.com

Executive Director

Rev. Richard Harden

Program Director

Craig Fruen