History
PREPARE developed out of Second Chance for Women, which was founded by Maryjoel Davis. It was relaunched as PREPARE in June 2021. An individual’s journey towards release and a successful reentry is necessarily a collaborative process. The work of PREPARE therefore engages many different people:
- The candidates for parole who are putting their journey of self-development before the Parole Commission. It is their life stories which are at the heart of the process. It is they who do the hard work.
- The peers on the inside who help raise up others by guiding them through the the process.
- The families and friends on the outside who provide the love and support necessary to get through incarceration and build a strong reentry plan.
- The Parole Advocates on the outside who help bring all these different elements into a well put together case for parole.
- The Reentry service providers on the outside who help give substance to a bid for parole by connecting with people before their parole hearings.
- The staff within the prison - case managers, COs, wardens, VAC officers - who facilitate PREPARE being able to provide our services.
- The Parole Commission - administrators and parole commissioners alike - whose receptiveness to PREPARE's work makes our striving towards best practice in parole hearing preparation a realistic goal.
