Geographical Area Served: Forgiven Ministry, Inc. goes where God opens prison doors. Officials in 12 states and all across North Carolina have invited the ministry behind prison walls, and demand continues to grow for the program. So far, the ministry serves in all five regions of the North Carolina Department of Corrections (Western, Piedmont, Central, South Central and Eastern regions) with volunteers throughout the state sacrificing time and money to be involved in what they describe as a most worthwhile and rewarding program. We work on a continuing basis with more than 23 prisons in North Carolina, delivering outreach and continued follow-up and mentoring of inmate children and families already served with one-day camps. Forgiven Ministry has been privileged to introduce and carry out “One Day with God” camps in South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, and Louisiana. The states of California, New Mexico, Georgia, and Oregon have requested camps of reconciliation but these states have yet to be served. As we grow the resources for this ministry, we expect the list of prisons reached by the program to grow proportionately.
Populations Served: The children of inmates, their caregivers and the inmates themselves are our target populations. Our program has reached almost 8,000 of them in the past six years. Many of the over 10,000 volunteers who have served during that time report a life-changing experience themselves. By changing the pattern of an inmate’s negative lifestyle, countless taxpayers in the community are also directly benefitting from this outreach.
It is difficult to put a price tag on the benefits of keeping parents out of prison and discouraging their children from following in their footsteps. The average cost to house one inmate in North Carolina for one year is $26,104.80 according to the North Carolina Department of Correction, Office of Research and Planning. However, the average cost of sending one student to college in NC is $10,437.00 including tuition, room, board, and textbooks. This online information is gathered from allcollege.org. If we do not intervene in the children’s lives, they will become prime targets for drug dealers and gang leaders who will fill the emptiness in their lives. Research has shown that as many as 80 percent of the children of inmates eventually go to prison themselves. We must strive to reach every at-risk youth that we can.
As resources become available, we will count it a privilege to serve any state that requests our services. We serve all races, faiths and ages. The ministry feels that to make the greatest difference in the lives of at-risk youth, we must serve the entire family. If the incarcerated parent has a new purpose in life, but the family is not connected, the success of this program will be minimal. The investment is great but the return is so much greater.
