Program supports convicts and helps them after prison
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Debra Germany, executive director of Divine Intervention Ministries, points to God as she talks about the Building Bridges-Second Chances Initiative Program on Friday at Freedom Corner in the Hill District. Her son was murdered in 2001. In the background are Marsha C. Grayson and the Rev. Glenn G. Grayson, parents of 18-year-old Jeron Grayson, who was shot and killed Oct. 17. -
People hold hands during the opening prayer at the Hill District Freedom Corner on Friday for the news conference on the Prison Ministries and Divine Interventions' Prison Society's Building Bridges program.
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The Pennsylvania Prison Society joined forces with Divine Intervention Ministries and other partners to launch the Building Bridges-Second Chances Initiative Program aimed at supporting incarcerated men and women and continue to mentor them when they are released.
"It's about showing them, and being there to guide them, to a law abiding great opportunity," Police Chief Nathan Harper said at a news conference at Freedom Corner in the Hill District Friday morning.
The ministry wants to work to keep former inmates matched with their mentor, assigned through Building Bridges, so that if they "run on hard times, they have someone to walk them through it," said Debra Germany, executive director of DIM.
"Our goal is to help these young men while in prison, so when they are released, they can come to our office and DIM provides after-care services."
One of the church leaders who spoke was the Rev. Glenn Grayson, whose 18-year-old son Jeron was shot and killed on Oct. 17. He said that he and his wife found themselves in a strange place supporting inmates when their son had been killed so recently, but that through his faith, he believes in second chances, even for the man standing trial for his son's death.
"If [God] can give us a second chance, everyone, like Keith Jones, deserves a second chance," he said. "We do agree that there are things you have to atone for, but you deserve a second chance."
Brandon Humphrey, 31, of the North Side, is a second chance success story of the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime, which helps ex-offenders find the services they need, and now he's involved with the Building Bridges program as well, he said.
Mr. Humphrey was released from the state penitentiary in 2007 and was connected with the PIRC program, coordinated by Jay A. Gilmer of the Department of Public Safety. He started his own cleaning service called Squeaky Clean, and also manages a real estate company called Pearl Gate Capital.
"We're employing guys who come out of jail and have a hard time getting a job due to their record," he said. "I tell them my story and also help them get integrated."
Mr. Humphrey is part of a network of people and services that Ms. Germany says are about welcoming former inmates back into the community and trying to break the cycle of repeat offenders. A major component will be help from the Mon Valley Initiative, an organization that assists with job skills and placement.
"It's about stopping that revolving door. It's creating the bridge to stop that gap. This is about action," Chief Harper said.
First Published October 30, 2010 12:00 am
