What's New at The First 72-- December Edition!

A Message from our Board of Directors:

"As we approach the end of the year - our second year surviving a global pandemic - it is easy to lose sight of how far we have come and the love and strength that has defined much of this time. But for us at The First 72+, COVID-19 only made more clear what we already knew: above all else, community support is what gets us through. Reentry from incarceration is almost never a straight line. The impact of incarceration on not just the person, but also their family, and the community to which they return, takes not just months, but often years to overcome. And it is only with your support that we as an organization, and the hundreds of clients we have supported over the last 7 years, have made it this far.

Because of your support we are ending the year nearly half way through building a brand new 8-bed transitional house and mixed use facility. Because of your support we have provided free housing to nearly 100 people over the last year. Because of your support we were able to provide tens of thousands of dollars of direct financial assistance to people recently released from prison. Because of your support we have been able to help hundreds of people access identification, vital records, free legal services, and public benefits upon release. Because of your support, this year we will celebrate Christmas Day by welcoming home a new client, released after decades in prison. Because of your support we are joined, every day, by people who used to be clients but now show up as friends, looking to help “the next man up.”

And most importantly, because of your support, we are not just ready, but eager, to keep at it in 2022.

Thank you for having our back through the years, and thanks for sticking by our side into the next.

Sincerely,

The Board of The First 72+"

A Year-End Look:

We've had a big year! Here's a few notable things that have happened at The First 72+ in the last twelve months: