In the News - California Reentry Program Founder wins Jefferson Award! See the video clip on CBS5.com, read the related articles on sfgate.com and cbs5.com. Would you like to know more about the challenges prisoners face within the first week of being released from prison? Hear about it in this radio interview with Allyson West at KALW News Radio Broadcast. We have been identified as a Cause in Facebook.

Background

The California Reentry Program was started in 2003 with a single client who was interested in continuing his college education after paroling from San Quentin. Allyson West was teaching algebra at San Quentin when this student approached her about college admission and financial aid. This student told people he knew about the help he was getting, and those men also came to ask for help with college, financial aid, housing, substance abuse treatment and many other needs. Over the ensuing weeks and months it became clear that there was no systematic delivery of information about services and opportunities in local communities to prisoners prior to their release. The program expanded to the Level I facility outside San Quentin’s walls in late 2003 and then to all the prison’s mainline residents in 2004. Today the program has approximately 25 volunteers and serves approximately 150 to 200 clients per month.