Our Projects
Family Reunification
An overwhelming majority of the individuals who live at the Jennifer House and Nielsen House are parents; however, most have been separated from their children due to incarceration, homelessness, and substance abuse issues. Once a parent begins to address underlying traumas and adverse life experience that are at the root of their challenges and substance abuse, family reunification can greatly enhance their sense of well being, purpose, and provide a motivation for the challenging work of personal development.
Through our Family Reunification Program, we provide a safe and structured home environment for children to reunite with their parent. In this way, we help to break the cycle of poverty and allow families to start the process of becoming whole once again.
Recreation Therapy
The individuals of the Jennifer House & Nielsen House are blessed to have access to an experienced recreation therapy instructor who engages with them weekly. Residents are able to enjoy meaningful workshops that consist of art, music, outdoor, and meditation activities. Recreation therapy provides the individuals with experiences that help strengthen the mind, body, and soul.
Women's Empowerment
The Women’s Empowerment Program allows the Jennifer House to follow alumnae who may still have unmet needs when they move on from the Jennifer House to obtain critical and life-changing services if needed. These services often times consist of ongoing case management, assistance accessing community services and referrals, transportation assistance in the form of bus passes, access to hygiene products, and more. Women are very secure in knowing that Jennifer House can and will still be a support even after they move on to become alumnae.
Hagen Grant
Our newest addition to the suite of programs and services offered on-site, the Hagen Program is a vocational and educational program for current residents and alumnae of the Jennifer House. In order to effectively transition into the community, one must become self-sufficient. The Hagen Program provides a dedicated case manager who assists women with identifying their goals and formulating next steps as well as connecting to and navigating available community resources. The primary goal of this program is to work on obtaining meaningful employment.
Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach is able to offer this program through the generosity of the Rochester Women’s Giving Circle, who made a three-year grant of $100,000 to support this initiative.
Internship Program
SCPO takes pride in working with students that are interested in utilizing a House as an internship site. Internships help develop skills, gain experience, and teach methodology as well as learn hands-on practices. Both Nielsen & Jennifer House staff and residents welcome students interested in working in a residential setting. Please use the Contact form to inquire with our staff about an internship experience.
Our Story
Behind the Scenes
Here at Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, we’re committed to investing our expertise and resources in order to further achieve our cause. Since 2000, we’ve been supporting our community members in a variety of ways and measuring our success not by monetary size, but by more qualitative measurements such as the scale and effectiveness of our efforts. Just imagine what we can achieve together.