Founded in 2001, Affirmation House Re-Entry Preparation, Training and Employment Network was developed in Chicago to prepare Men-In-Transition (MIT) to successfully reenter society as employed, productive citizens. Their founder and Executive Director, Sandi Brown, describes how 10 donated computers will impact their organization:

Affirmation House makes an immediate impact on non-violent MIT with a history of unmanaged substance abuse issues, that are released from state prison and returning to our community. We provide housing, food, clothing, transportation, job readiness training for individuals with criminal backgrounds, and intensive case management, in preparation for gainful employment.

 

The population that we serve has a multitude of barriers prior to being eligible for employment, which results in extensive dependence on supportive services. Our program is located on the far Southside of Chicago, an area of the city that is lacking the resources to assist the overwhelming number of parolees and residents in need of supportive service assistance. One of our goals is to equip our participants with the tools to become less reliant on the supportive service referral system. 

 

We will accomplish this particular goal with the donation of ten Dell desktop computers from and the National Cristina Foundation. This donation is huge to us; it will afford us the opportunity to create a new Computer Resource Center Project. The addition of these computers will make a valuable difference in the lives of our MIT. Our participants will be introduced to computer keyboarding, email, generating on-line resumes and employment applications.

 

This donation will allow us to provide our MIT with the tools too “fish for life” and put them on the road to independence. Instead of relying on our small volunteer staff to research and coordinate services, we will instruct the participants on how to search for the services that they need. They will learn about health care options, tutoring, locating housing resources and recovery services.

 

Affirmation House operates solely on in-kind donations and volunteer staff. The National Cristina Foundation has been instrumental in helping us build a program that will make a major impact on the lives of MIT, their families and the Roseland Community where we live.