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Watch the evening news and it seems like crime is everywhere. Chances are either you or someone you know has been a victim of crime. You may even know someone who is or has been incarcerated. In 2014, almost 3% of the adult population in the US was in jail or prison, or on probation or parole. In 2018, about one in four American adults lived with a criminal record. While the US represents only about 4.4 percent of the world’s population, it houses around 22 percent of the world’s prisoners. In 2015, nearly one third of working age adults had a criminal record.
According to the US Department of Justice, over 95% of all state prison inmates complete their sentences and are released to go home — and become your neighbors. State budgets for prisons have been decreasing of late, and prisons have fewer rehabilitation programs than they used to. Recidivism is a constant problem: the Bureau of Justice Statistics says that 77% of released prisoners are rearrested for parole violations and/or new offenses within five years of release.
Just Another Ministry (aka JAM) is committed to the belief that reform is indeed possible, and that reform begins within the individual him/herself. JAM goes inside the prison with Bible studies and life skills courses to help inmates change their lives and learn to live a better life when they are released. JAM provides resources for inmates and their families while incarcerated, resources for planning as the inmates come closer to release, and resources for newly-released inmates.