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Family and Friends Newsletter | October 2018
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Emergency Contact Updates
 Offenders are encouraged to always keep their emergency contact lists up to date, but many times forget to do so. Does your loved one have an updated and accurate emergency contact list? Every offender should notify staff of any changes in their emergency contacts to include changes in the person(s) listed and their address or phone numbers, or to add a cell phone as an alternative contact number. This information is important to ensure notification can be made should the offender become seriously injured or very seriously ill. It is also used by Central Transfer Authority to determine the location of family when offender transfers are considered. Only the offender can change this information, so please remind your loved one to update their emergency contact information regularly by notifying their case manager.
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 In 2017, the Missouri Department of Corrections transformed an aging community release center into the remodeled Transition Center of St. Louis, providing housing and programming to men under community supervision.
In a four-phase transitional program, residents work on employment readiness, education, treatment, life skills, family reunification, parenting and money management. Two wings of the Transition Center are devoted to education, programming and group activities. Computer labs are available for education and job search activities.
Residents are expected to be gainfully employed unless they are disabled and receiving/applying for benefits; to establish residency in their community; to report to a field probation and parole officer as scheduled; and/or to participate in any treatment directed or deemed necessary by the Parole Board or Court.
A successful stay at TCSTL will prepare residents to balance the requirements of probation or parole supervision with the realities and responsibilities of modern life, and to address the unique challenges associated with establishing a positive and full membership in the community.
Learn more at https://doc.mo.gov/programs/missouri-reentry-process/transition-center
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 October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Domestic violence is best understood as a pattern of abusive behaviors — including physical, sexual and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion — used by one intimate partner against another (adult or adolescent) to gain, maintain, or regain power and control in the relationship. Batterers use of a range of tactics to frighten, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, often injure, and sometimes kill a current or former intimate partner.
For more general information about domestic violence, including potential warning signs for emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline's information page: Is This Abuse? Get the Facts.
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Religious and Spiritual Programming
 The Department of Corrections Religious/Spiritual Programming facilitates the practice of religious faith and encourages the development of personal spirituality among offenders. Department chaplains at each correctional center coordinate religious programming, oversee services provided by religious volunteers, and offer spiritual counseling and support.
Religious services, support and education available in Missouri correctional centers include:
- Counseling
- Visits from community volunteers and clergy
- Religious dietary accommodations
- Worship services and studies
- Chapel library & free literature
- Special programming
In 2018, we're celebrating the 175th anniversary of the prison chaplaincy in Missouri. Meet some of our chaplains: #MOPrisonChaplains175
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Resources for Families of Incarcerated Individuals
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Amachi is a one-to-one mentoring program in which children of incarcerated individuals are paired with positive adult role models. Through careful matching procedures, each child is paired with a caring mentor with the goal of fostering a meaningful, supportive, long-lasting relationship. At the core of the program is the belief that each child has different needs to be addressed and talents to be fostered. Amachi mentors help children of incarcerated parents by proving tailored support, guidance and encouragement to allow them to see beyond the turmoil of incarceration. Amachi has successfully served 1,078 children affected by incarceration in our state.
In addition to supporting children during parent incarceration, Amachi also assists families in the transition period when parents are released from prison. The program encourages open communication with family members and mentors with the purpose of fostering trusting and enduring relationships before parent release thus making parent reentry less stressful for the family.
Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, was founded in 1982 by an ex-prisoner who witnessed firsthand the strained relationship between prisoners and their children, Angel Tree has grown to become the largest national outreach specifically for the children of prisoners. Angel Tree reaches out to the children of prisoners and their families with the love of Christ to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners. You may learn more at https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/angel-tree/
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