REshape

Background Statement

My brother was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2012. It was during this time that I began to think about the actions of people, their traumas, lack of support, substance use, mental health, and so much more. I went back to school for my Master's in Social Work and graduated in May of 2021. During the 3 years of Grad School, I acknowledged that I wanted to create something new. A program that was more person-centred focused, a program that assisted individuals who had higher needs due to mental health, disabilities, developmental delays, etc. I wanted this program to be designed to assist individuals who were involved in the Criminal Justice System to assist with rehabilitation instead of incarceration. And lastly, I wanted to design a program that would reduce the stigma surrounding incarceration and incarcerated individuals. I began to discuss this idea with my mother and my brother in 2020 and then began to research nonprofits. I began to choose my founding board members during the last year of my Master's Degree and chose to create a nonprofit for my Capstone Project. REshape is an acronym that stands for "Resources, Rehabilitate, React, Reprieve, and Re-entry." REshape was approved in 2021 and began taking our first clients in January of 2022. Since 2022, we have assisted for 75 people with resource coordination and care management. I have been volunteering my time for two years, connecting with clients and other organizations such as Second Chance Center, The Aid Center, Aurora Parole Office, Remerg, etc. We now have two people who are working for REshape (the Executive Director and our paid intern), along with an extremely "hands-on" board. REshape was designed to reshape the minds of society regarding incarceration and incarcerated individuals. I started this nonprofit after my brother's incarceration and will continue to provide a voice for people until they find their own.