JUMPSTART Ohio

JUMPSTART OHIO provides faith-based reentry services (inside programming + post-release services) for justice-involved men and women. Our aim is a 100% success rate for anyone who wants it, breaking the back of recidivism in Ohio and beyond. Staff and volunteers help them transition from incarceration to productive lives.

JUMPSTART began in 2008 in South Carolina through four incarcerated men who were all serving life sentences. Tired of seeing their friends be released, only to return to prison a few months later, they developed a program for reentry based on Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. Since 2008, more than 4,500 men and women have graduated from the program (SC, NC, GA, and OH) with a 96% success rate of not returning to prison.

Our Inside Program features:

• A 40-week, faith-based, character-driven, peer-led, and volunteer-supported program.
• Unique, peer-to-peer assessments ensuring accountability and driving personal growth.
• A focus on JUMPSTART’s core values of accountability, responsibility, and submission to authority daily.

Our Outside Program provides a safe and stable environment for people in transition after incarceration by assisting with:

• Low-cost, safe, and stable housing
• Individual case management
• Access to physical, mental, and dental healthcare
• Transportation
• Meaningful employment at a living wage
• Financial stability training
• A recovery program for chemical dependency

We are seeking:

• Volunteers to mentor students in weekly meetings in Warren County and Montgomery County, Ohio prisons.
• Employers open to hiring a new labor source - formerly incarcerated men and women.
• Donors who believe in Second Chances, that people shouldn’t be judged by their worst mistake, and are passionate about helping formerly incarcerated individuals be successful.

With your help, we can help people break cycles of crime, addiction, and recidivism. Your investment in the lives of others will have a generational impact.