Re-Entry:
The Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP)
…It is that evolved relationship with my mentors that has really allowed me to regain my sense of humanity…
~PEP Graduate
What Is The Partakers Empowerment Program?
The goal of the Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP) is to help formerly incarcerated women and men reach a higher potential by obtaining the skills and knowledge they need to overcome the many challenges of re-entry.
I could not have traveled this far or done this well on my own while navigating such a negative environment. Thanks to Partakers, no one has to make this journey alone.
~PEP Graduate
In partnership with the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative, the Partakers Empowerment Program (PEP) is a re-entry initiative that reduces barriers for formerly incarcerated people in Massachusetts. Understanding the power of mentor relationships, Partakers has worked alongside Brandeis to build a program that centers on vital supportive mentorships that provide access to critical resources and understanding that returning citizens need to rebuild their lives. The PEP program also works to bridge communities and provides a true sense of partnership and hope.
Re-entry programs, such as the Partakers Empowerment Program, have been shown to be an essential component in reducing recidivism, increasing employment opportunities, and stabilizing many other external factors that are challenging for formerly incarcerated women and men re-entering communities. Education is key to helping individuals who have been impacted by the justice system obtain the skills needed to thrive. One of many studies has found that people who have participated in correction education programs had a 43% lower rate of recidivism than those who did not participate in such programs (Davis, L.M. et. al 2014). In addition, re-entry and education programs also contribute to preventing homelessness and reducing other barriers to successful re-entry.
95% of our graduates who have gone through our reentry program have been successful in obtaining employment and adequate housing.
What I got out of the PEP program is a sense of belonging. Like I belong to something. Because when you’re in prison you don’t feel like you belong to something and when you come home, you can’t pick up where you left off. [PEP] has opened my eyes to the fact that my life isn’t completely over. I came home to a support system. Some people [in my PEP cohort] didn’t know how to go on Mass Health or get an ID...We need this program. It makes you think that you’re not alone and that
you can give back.~Former PEP student and teaching fellow
How the PEP Program Works
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The Partakers Empowerment Program provides a robust and immersive program for re-entry. Students are provided with new laptops and are engaged in programs that features 6 virtual workshops over the course of 12 weeks on technology, civic re-engagement, health and wellness, professionalism, financial literacy, and education. Each workshop is taught by Brandeis instructors, graduate students, and community partners. Throughout the program, students are supported by members of the Partakers’ Mentoring community who meet with their Mentees via Zoom.
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All participants in the Partakers’ Empowerment Program are matched with our community mentors to help support and guide students as they navigate the many challenges and opportunities of re-entry. Students and mentors work together to solidify understanding and the development of key skills needed for reengaging to society in critical immediate service need areas such as obtaining a social security card, birth certificate, driver’s license status, MA identification, and registering to vote.
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Workshops cover: computer hardware and software, income tax filing, applying for healthcare, fitness and wellness CORI, employee rights, workplace, and video conference etiquette, interviewing skills, resume writing, budgeting, financing housing, and rent payment, savings, and retirement, understanding credit, Microsoft Suites, Google Docs, Zoom, writing personal statements, and other skills critical to establishing a new life and to growing and thriving in this new life after incarceration.
Being part of Partakers is humbling, frustrating, inspiring, and enriching. We are humbled to see how hard it is to make a better life for oneself after incarceration. It is frustrating to learn, yet again, how unfair so many of our social systems are. It is inspiring to meet women who are determined to move beyond their pasts and to build futures for themselves in a world that does not make re-entry easy. And it is enriching to work as a team and to make a difference…in the lives of women who have been battling injustices their entire lives, for whom a safe space, a listening ear, and a shoulder to cry on are too often ideas and not realities.
~Ellen and Susan, PEP Mentors
Click Below to Watch Our PEP Reentry Graduation Ceremonies and Hear from Our Grads, Mentors and Valedictorians
For the longest time, I believed that education and opportunities…were beyond my reach. I had settled with the fact that incarceration was all I knew… Partakers has allowed me to visualize a different and better path for my life… to regain my sense… of fulfilling my social role as a constructive member of an accepting community who believes in change and opportunity after incarceration.
~ John, Partakers Student And PEP Member