The East St Louis Reentry Services Center honored 22 program graduates at their Winter Transition Celebration on January 21, 2015. The ceremony showcased the accomplishments of those that have successfully completed the program over the past several months. The East St. Louis program has 80 plus regular participants who are involved daily in learning a cognitive, behavior-based curriculum designed to reduce recidivism in Illinois. The doors of the East St. Louis Reentry Service center opened in December 2004 and have been an integral part of assisting our population in the change process.
Officials from Illinois Department of Corrections were in attendance to welcome and bring words of encouragement. The keynote speaker was Deputy Chief Ed Ortega who stressed to the graduates that although we all fall down, we have to get back up again. District 4, Parole Commander Angela Chaney suggested to the honorees that by staying the course they have engaged in, they can make it. Each graduate was presented with a framed certificate of completion and a parting gift. A recent graduate remarked, “The program was excellent. The program forced me to look at life from a different viewpoint. I became aware of things that I used to put on the back burner. The program made me accountable for my time. My family in attendance was proud of me for completing this program.”
Another participant stated, “The words of encouragement almost made me cry. I truly appreciate everything that was provided for us tonight. Hopefully I will be able to come back and visit the program staff from time to time to check in and keep them updated.” A casual dinner was served during the ceremony and participants introduced family and mingled with friends, staff and parole officials.
The graduations are reminders to participants that the community supports their transition as contributing members of society. Using evidence based principles, participants receive industry-leading rehabilitation treatment to help break the cycles of criminal behavior through individual counseling and group classes, including:
The GEO Group (GEO) is the world’s leading provider of offender rehabilitation services. GEO programs are rooted in consistent delivery of programming and other evidence-based principles proven to change criminal behavior. GEO’s approach has been proven to reduce recidivism, target employment or full-time school enrollment upon program completion, alter criminal behavior, and generate savings for taxpayers.
Congratulations to the graduates of the East St Louis Reentry Services Center!
