A New Hope: HPRC continues re-entry and recovery efforts
The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center is has been at the forefront of reaching the community’s most vulnerable populations since the SHARE Foundation’s Violence Intervention Plan was unveiled and has received a grant each year to address community needs.
This year was no different; the HPRC received $35,800 for its A New Hope re-entry program. The program’s goal is to help incarcerated women prepare for re-entry and potential family reunification.
“People that are re-entering society from incarceration or addictions, they haven’t, most of the time, been a functioning adult in society, and it’s hard to learn those skills … We help them navigate those resources so that they can find the help they need,” Jackie Stratton, the HPRC’s re-entry and outreach coordinator, said in January.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way the program operates — instead of having face-to-face time with inmates each week, Stratton sometimes delivers lessons via video-conference —, the program has been successful, she said earlier this year.
“We have a 37 year-old woman who came into our program in 2020. She had several charges … We talk at least twice a month; I provide resources and things
for her while she’s in prison. It’s not just something we want to do right in the Union County jail, but we want to follow them. When she comes back to Union County, she’ll have the resources she needs to be productive. That’s what we do.”
Paula Williams, HPRC executive director, said the nonprofit is working with Nicole Smith, the Union County Sheriff’s Office Re-entry Coordinator, to partner where they can as Smith leads a new re-entry program within the jail’s walls.
Re-entry efforts continue once inmates leave the jail, when they can join the HPRC’s Earn While You Learn parenting program or take other faith-based recovery or life skills courses.
Last year, the HPRC also spearheaded efforts to have a Safe Haven Baby Box — a safe, secure box where new mothers can anonymously surrender a baby 30 days old or younger — installed in El Dorado. The box was dedicated and opened for use last October at El Dorado First Department Station 2, at 1400 W. Hillsboro.
The HPRC also recently expanded their offices in the BancorpSouth building on Main Street.
To learn more about the HPRC, visit hannahprc.com, call 870862-1317 or visit their office at 101 W. Main St., Ste. 201.