Peckham Launches New Program for Incarcerated, Rising Out of the System (ROOTS)

LANSING, MI – Peckham has launched a new vocational rehabilitation program for those recently released from incarceration, Rising Out of the System (ROOTS). The program is a partnership with the city of Lansing, and will serve former offenders who are returning to Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties. This contract is part of a larger state-wide prison reentry grant, The Offenders’ Success Program, which aims to provide necessary resources to released offenders so they may become productive, self-sufficient citizens.

The ROOTS program will offer individuals social support, such as food, clothing and housing, as well as vocational skill development such as resume building and budget creation. The program’s motto, “go anywhere from here”, is designed to inspire participants to achieve their vocational and personal goals post-incarceration.

“The ROOTS program was created to help a community of people that are truly underserved. It provides an opportunity for these individuals to rehabilitate and regain a sense of independence and self-sufficiency, while avoiding recidivism,” said Nate Burmeister, ReEntry Services Coordinator at Peckham, Inc.

Peckham is the first organization to provide cognitive behavioral intervention skills for employment and also the first to use evidence based curriculum to equip this high risk community with necessary vocational skills. The program anticipates to serve 70 to 130 new individuals per year.

Peckham, Inc., a nonprofit community vocational rehabilitation organization, is a unique business and human services agency. Peckham’s mission is to provide a wide range of opportunities to maximize human potential for persons with barriers to employment who are striving for greater independence and self-sufficiency.