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DESCRIPTION

Although Gemeinschaft Home is a private, non-profit organization, our re-entry program is regulated by the Virginia Department of Corrections as a Community Residential Program (CRP) for non-violent, non-sexual (ex)offenders.  

​We collaborate closely with local court services, attorneys, and probation officers as well as with re-entry specialists and counselors working inside the prison system to ensure that each resident who enrolls in the program has the vital resources and support to return to life after incarceration. 

​​Residents arrive with little or no money and need tremendous support during their initial days of freedom. In addition to full-time room and board for a minimum of 90 days, our program includes mandatory counseling, and residents are required to actively seek and/or maintain employment while living at Gemeinschaft Home. All residents are obligated to participate in daily chores and maintenance of communal living spaces and to observe all house-rules, particularly curfew and abstinence from alcohol and drugs.  

We screen for violent offenses, sex offenses (regardless of conviction type and whether it was a crime by force), and gang affiliation. Because our residents are required to pursue employment, we also check for any health issues that might prevent an individual from working, and we verify whether the person is following any prescribed treatments and/or medications. We also verify that the individual has a probation obligation.

​Family Members and Relatives
If you are a family member or friend wanting to assist an incarcerated loved one, please contact the counselor within his prison or jail and/or contact his probation district. If you are an attorney seeking a court order for your client to participate in our program, please contact us.

We like to use the metaphor that our program is a stool, held up by three legs:  ​Employment, Residence Life and Counseling.

Eligibility & Referrals

**Only probation officers, prison counselors, and re-entry specialists can refer residents to our program.**

Referral Application  Form (Word doc)

Referral Process
In order to determine fully whether an (ex)offender is eligible for our program, we must first receive a referral file, which must contain all of the following items:
​

1. completed referral application (download form);
2. full criminal history; and 
3. all medical and mental health records.​​

​For more information:
Contact John Butler, Residence Life Coordinator & Case Manager​ (reslife@gemeinschafthome.org​). 

​​Message is delivered directly to John Butler,
Residence Life Coordinator & Case Manager (reslife@gemeinschafthome.org). 

Employment

We expect every resident who enters our program to seek out, secure, and maintain employment while residing here. While we cannot guarantee employment, and we have no contracts with specific employers, we have positive relationships with a number of employers in the local area. 

Our goal is to support residents in their employment endeavors, so that they can save money to take with them when they leave our program, enabling them to become more independent and, perhaps, to afford down payments on rent, utilities, transportation, and court costs.

Residence Life 

Our house can sometimes get a little hectic with an average of 35 men from all walks of life here at any given time. The senior staff at Gemeinschaft Home maintains a structure that is fair, safe, and enriching. We follow the Therapeutic Community (TC) model, and residents are free and at liberty while here, adapting to what we call “graduated freedom.”

​We have developed a resident leadership structure, consisting of senior house representatives and room leaders. There is a grievance process and regular developmental meetings (called “D-Meetings”) to  resolve conflict respectfully within the house. 

Counseling

Therapeutic Interventions at Gemeinschaft come in two primary forms: Group and Individual Counseling, both with accompanying case management. Our groups are conducted twice a day, four days a week, for the duration of the 90 days of residency. 

​Residents are required to do classwork and homework regularly as part of the curriculum. This often sparks discussion in individual counseling sessions and helps staff to focus on key areas of development. Individual Counseling at Gemeinschaft can be described more as life coaching than clinical counseling.