RISE: Support from outside helps former inmates restart their lives in Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS - Former offenders say it just takes a little support, even if it's something like clothes or a bus pass, to make a big difference in their lives when they are released to rejoin the community.

Now, a Linn County program founded in 2015 to offer that type of assistance needs a little help of its own.

The Reintegration Initiative for Safety and Empowerment program - or RISE - in conjunction with Fresh Start Jail Ministries, an ecumenical program that provides support and counseling to inmates and their families, host a fundraiser and concert on Thursday to aid the programs. The event starts with a social at 6:15 p.m. and the concert, featuring White Ribbon Day and The Elim Arrival, as well as musicians from area churches, gets underway at 7 p.m. at Cedar Hills Community Church, 6455 E Ave. NW.

Freewill donations will be accepted and those who attend also can sign up to volunteer.

RISE, which operates out of Mission of Hope at 1700 B Ave. NE, has grown rapidly since it started, said Maridee Dugger, program coordinator, adding the organization has helped an estimated 700 people. The volunteers, or 'navigators” as they are called, make referrals to a variety of social agencies to assist clients with housing, jobs, financial budgeting, drug treatment and other services in preparation for rejoining the community. 

Dugger said the organization operates on a $30,000 annual budget and initially received a Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation grant and then surplus money from Linn County Community Services, which has carried the program for two years.

Dugger said the goal is to help 'participants” from reoffending by giving them a fair chance when they get out of jail.

'The reality for these people - if they don't make a change, they will die young with no health care,” Dugger said. 'Everybody has a different idea of what a good life is or what is success. For some it might be a car, a job or a house, but if next week is better than last, then that's success.”

Kashawna Harris, 25, who has been clean and sober for more than a year, said giving birth while in prison made her want to change, but without someone on the outside to believe in her it might not have happened.

Harris met Dugger in 2015 when Harris was convicted of possession of methamphetamine. She was accepted into the Linn County Drug Court, instead of going to jail, but she didn't stay in drug treatment, relapsed and was arrested in a robbery last year.

This time she was sent to the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women for seven months, but Dugger didn't give up on her.

Before she got out of prison, Dugger assisted the young mother to ensure her son could live with his grandparents until Harris' parole in March.

'They helped me find a place to live, gave me clothes, helped me get to interviews so I could get a job,” said Harris, who works as a housekeeper at the Red Roof Inn in Cedar Rapids. 'All the clothes and toys my baby has probably came from RISE.”

Jafar Khenti, 55, said he also had unwavering support from Dugger and others in the program.

'You have to want to change inside but having someone who you know cares - that's everything,” said Khenti during a visit last week to the RISE office.   

Khenti was arrested and charged with assault after getting into a fight with two men he said called him the 'N-word.”

Khenti and Harris learned about RISE in jail, as the navigators make visits once a week to talk with inmates.

When Khenti was released from jail last year, he received free bus passes through RISE, which he needed to go on job interviews. He was hired about five months ago as a machine operator at River Bend Industries in Victor.

'It takes determination to change,” Khenti said. 'Maybe it takes not wanting to see your kids from behind bars. I know I didn't.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

If You Go

What

: Fundraiser for RISE and Fresh Start Jail Ministries

When

: 6:15 p.m. Thursday

Where

: Cedar Hills Community Church, 6455 E Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids

Details

: Social precedes a 7 p.m. concert featuring White Ribbon Day and The Elim Arrival.

Admission

: Freewill donation

Learn more and donate

: Anyone wishing to donate items or volunteer for the RISE program should contact Maridee Dugger at (319) 200-4130. Items most needed are tennis shoes, men's and women's underwear, kitchen cookware and furniture like tables, beds and mattresses.