Milwaukee church helps former inmates find resources, community
MILWAUKEE - Putting their faith in people out of prison, Milwaukee leaders aren’t only helping show them a new way – they say their work can make entire communities stronger.
"I was deep in the problem," said Roy Rogers, who was previously incarcerated. "Now I’m going to be deep in the solution."
It’s an outlook on life Rogers didn’t always have. After 28 years in prison, he said he’s grateful for those who helped him see a better way, pointing to the organization The Community for helping him with reentry, starting when he was still in prison.
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"Everything I do now is centered upon the moment of a bad decision I made when I was juvenile," he said. "When I literally jumped out of the plane of incarceration, I had a landing spot."
Some are easy to spot, others are nondescript, but there's a certain type of building that can be found in just about every community – many open to help every person.
Invisible Reality Ministries
"The church is the hub of community," said Pastor Willie Davis with Invisible Reality Ministries.
"It doesn’t matter what you believe at that point, we’re going to support and love you," said Kylie Shaw, Invisible Reality Ministries' prison ministry coordinator.
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When coming out of prison can feel like being on the outside looking in, Invisible Reality Ministries is offering new perspective.
"They’re going to face a lot of barriers," Shaw said.
"They’re looking at life through a different lens, and that’s what blesses me," said Davis.
The nondenominational Milwaukee church supports people coming out of prison. It held a panel Saturday, inviting speakers from nonprofits and the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center (formerly known as the House of Corrections) to talk about barriers to things like housing, health services and employment – as well as potential solutions.
"We’ve had several meetings with individuals or institutions, and they’ve stated, ‘OK, we didn’t know this church provided this or this organization provided that,’" Davis said.
The pastor said they can fix that disconnect with a shared vision.
"It’s important the community sees our hands pulling the plow together," he said.
Invisible Reality Ministries panel offers resources to formerly incarcerated individuals
"We want people to be successful, which is going to prevent people from going back into incarceration, recidivism goes down," Shaw said. "Ultimately, we’ll have safer communities. We’ll have families who are being mended, people continuing to be in the community."
Rogers, who attended the panel, credits his own church for providing support he needed when he got out of prison.
He's now helping others readjust out of prison and see life in a brand-new way.
"We’re here to support you," he said. "Life is great…life is beautiful."
If you or someone you know could use a hand accessing community resources after incarceration, information can be found online through the Invisible Reality Ministries, Partners in Hope, and Table of the Saints websites.