Beyond the Walls:
Approximately 6,000 inmates are released annually to our Tennessee communities, but without a solid support system, approximately 60% or 3600 will go back to prison within 3 years. FOCUS Prison Ministries provides Post-Release transition services to those Christian Ex-Offenders who have faithfully participated in FOCUS Programs while incarcerated & have demonstrated their desire to follow a Christ-Centered plan for successful transition. This Christ-centered, holistic approach to ministry has shown to reduce that rate of return to prison (recidivism rate) to less than 20%.
FOCUS Christian Transition Program (FCTP):
The Mission for the FCTP is to help meet the needs of Christian ex-offenders who have faithfully participated in FOCUS programs while incarcerated and have demonstrated their desire to follow a Christ-centered plan for successful transition.
The FCTP addresses these needs in 3 main categories: Spirit, Mind, and Body
I. Spirit – Upon release, it is vitally important that the spiritual needs of the participant continue to be met – personal quiet time, church attendance, small group accountability (FOCUS Support Group and Celebrate Recovery), and continued discipleship training through FOCUS Christian Academy make up the core of the spiritual training program.
II. Mind – Each participant completes a “Life-Plan” prior to leaving prison which looks at short term and longer term goals relative to education. Some will continue to work on their GED while others will continue formal vocational training or college courses as desired.
III. Body – There are several areas of emphasis here (e.g., addictions, physical health, relationships, etc), but three of the primary ones addressed by the FCTP are housing, transportation, and employment.
Housing – The FCTP helps meet the housing needs of participants in two ways:
 Peace At Last Ministries (PAL) – Through a collaborative partnership with PAL, Tennessee Board of Probation & Parole approved housing is provided for the first critical months of transition. In this structured, family environment men are encouraged to become all God has called them to be while continuing to work on life controlling issues. Please, pray about how you or your small group might sponsor a participant through our “Adopt-A-Man” program at PAL.
Honor Housing – Upon graduation from PAL, the participants who have a successful “Exit Plan” (consists of a permanent job, transportation, member of a local church, etc.) are eligible for the FOCUS Honor Housing program. This allows the guys to live in a smaller family community with less structure while sharing expenses, and saving money for a deposit for their own apartment or house.
Transportation – A primary roadblock to employment is being addressed, by bus passes, volunteer drivers, and the Wheels for Success Program – a program started to allow reliable used vehicles to be donated to FOCUS for men who have a worked hard to secure a permanent job, a valid driver's license, and insurance coverage. Please pray about being a part of this important ministry team … we need vehicles and volunteer drivers. Volunteer Now!
Employment – The FCTP helps meet the  employment needs of participants through the CEOS (Christian Ex-Offender Services) Program. This program was developed to provide job readiness training (e.g., Job Assessment Testing, Resume Preparation, Interview Training, etc), as well as, providing temporary apprenticeship jobs where participants may earn a full-time job opportunity. We hope that you would consider becoming part of this exciting team as a CEOS Job Partner (or maybe even a CEOS morning devotion facilitator) to help FOCUS to provide one of the key ingredients to successful transition – meaningful work!
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