Mission Statement
The mission of Our Place, DC is to support women who are or have been in the criminal justice system by providing the resources they need to maintain connections with the community, resettle after incarceration, and reconcile with their families. Our Place helps women remain drug and alcohol free, obtain decent housing and jobs, gain access to education, secure resources for their children, and maintain physical and emotional health.
OUR IN-PRISON PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
± Family Transportation Program: DC women are incarcerated in prisons far from their homes and families. Our Place, DC provides monthly transportation and lodging for families to visit with women incarcerated in Danbury, CT.
± HIV/AIDS Peer Prevention and Education, including training and certification, for incarcerated women.
± Legal Education Classes for women who are incarcerated.
± Pre-Release Classes for DC women incarcerated in Danbury, CT and Alderson, WV.
± Quarterly Newsletter: Finding Our Place is a quarterly newsletter distributed to all DC women who are incarcerated.
± Support Groups for women who are incarcerated.
OUR IN-COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
± Clothing Boutique where women can find a full wardrobe of new and slightly used work and casual clothes.
± Drop-In Center with Employment and Housing Resources.
Our Place, DC operates a safe, nurturing drop-in center where women can spend time, participate in support and educational groups, and have access to an employment and housing resource center.
As a central part of its programs, Our Place, DC maintains a list of transitional housing options, as well as a list of current job openings for women recently released from prison. Our Place, DC also provides extensive resources and support to help women navigate the employment and rental processes.
The drop-in center also provides and connects women to legal services, medical services, substance abuse treatment, mental health and trauma services, and services for their children.
± Family Program includes the Our Kids program, a Saturday recreational program for children of incarcerated women and a respite program for their caretakers.
± HIV/AIDS Peer Prevention and Education, including training and certification.
± Legal Services Clinic for women who are incarcerated and those newly released to the community.
± Weekly Women's Support Group addresses issues that impact women who are on the road to recovery and/or starting their lives and provides a chance for women to make new friends.
The newest addition to the Our Place, DC Family is Camille's Place. Camille's Place is an emergency transitional housing facility for women who are homeless upon release from prison or jail.
Description
This is your chance to shine!!! Take your skills, gifts, talents and help make a difference in the lives of DC Women.
Camille's Place needs volunteer individuals or groups to come in and hold workshops and activities!!!
Camille's Place is a non-profit emergency transitional residency deigned for HIV positive women who are homeless immediately upon release from prison or jail. Although we are a part of Our Place DC, a program which has been around for about 6 years, Camille's place is relatively new. It is in these first few months of operation that we are working to design our program based on the feedback and needs of program participants. We have noticed a need for increased on-site programming to help foster the holistic care community that we aim to provide. Although the women who live in our facility keep busy all day working , when they are home we see signs of boredom setting in. In an attempt to prevent the television from becoming the focal point at Camille's Place, we seek your help. We realize that programs are available in the districy, but would like to foster a sense of community here at Camille's Place where sharing and participation feels safe. It is for this reason that we seek your assistance. We aim to bring in a variety of education series and activity workshops.
Examples of what we would be interest in include:
Yoga Classes
A Cooking Class
Anger Management Group
Healthy Relationships Presentation
Parenting Classes
Healing Through Art
Jewlery Making
Knitting Circle
....We are open other ideas that you may have......
Please contact me and let me know if you can offer any unique skill to Camille's Place. We house four women at a time so groups could be very intimate.
I look forward to hearing from you, and our women are eager to let their transitional housing experience set the stage for education and personal growth. We ask for your help to aide us in this endeavor.
Have a wonderful day,
Allison
Please contact me by email to express interest and if we have a need for you service I will contact you. Thanks in advance!
