Services

How We Help through our Re-entry Initiatives

HOTT provides multifaceted services for loved ones facing incarceration and those returning to society. We have preventive and diversion measures to reduce recidivism, as well as services to improve both stability and mental health. We follow the guidelines and recommendations of SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This collaborative relationship is strength-based and iterative in that we take our loved ones through step-by-step phases of successful community reintegration.

We work to restore the civil, social and human rights of the formerly incarcerated by mobilizing individuals to become advocates for their own personal development, for their families, and for their community.

Some of the services we provide at HOTT are:

Case Management

We have a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, care coordination, and advocacy. Case managers will work closely with returning loved ones: monitoring their progress, keeping detailed notes, and following up to ensure their needs are being met. When the need for outside help arises, we find available organizations through our resources. At HOTT, we pride ourselves in providing an environment of safety and continuum of care. Some of our Case Management services include:

· Trauma-informed group therapy

· Peer-to-peer, one-on-one, or group support

· Family reunification and advocacy

· Substance abuse support

· Workforce development, resume writing and job readiness

· Stable employment placement with our many partners

· Mediation and advocacy help with probation officers, courts, government and state agencies

Employment Training with Job Placement

We offer computer and job training that is designed to increase professionalism, technical skills, knowledge, efficiency, and value creation. This training will help loved ones returning home to succeed and feel good in a job and or career. It is not just a training skill but most importantly a way of life. This increases the needed skill set and helps in the development of an employee and or entrepreneur by decreasing the recidivism rate. For those who thrive in our development programs, we offer job placement with our partners in various organizations and unions. Once employed, our loved ones are endowed with specific on-the-job training, invaluable to their development as returning loved ones to the community. This knowledge and experience will serve them well as they continue their path through ongoing productive employment. We also educate on business start up for our returning loved ones striving to be business owners.

Financial Literacy

We offer empowerment through financial literacy education, teaching the skills and knowledge required to make informed decisions to manage one’s own finances. Statistics show low-income households tend to struggle with mental health issues stemming from a lack of resources and finances. HOTT takes a holistic approach to meeting the needs of our loved ones in our programs. We help returning loved ones increase their financial literacy knowledge and create a better model of behavior by promoting a financial literacy lifestyle. We offer:

Education in savings, budgeting, and investing
Family planning
Assisting in achieving overall financial goals
Teaching the method of making SMART 3, 6, 9 and 12 month goals
Business start-ups and entrepreneurship
Opening the opportunity for community partnerships with credit unions

Parole Preparation Support

Often, returning loved ones will have a shocking discovery in their parole hearing – no one in the penal system will prepare them for life outside; this can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, depressed, and desperate. Some naively assume the system will act in their best interest, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. The parole and or federal re-entry process can dehumanize returning loved ones, viewing them simply as numbers in a system.

At HOTT, we work to prepare and support each of our loved ones, ensuring they have the best possible chance to succeed when coming home. Each person is unique, and each will have different circumstances with which they approach the parole board. By advocating for our loved ones, we ask the parole process to see the human being instead of the situation in which they have found themselves.

We work on both sides of the system: doing our best to work with parole boards to have them see our loved ones as people reentering society; and making sure our loved ones are educated about and prepared for the parole system within the penal process.

Post-conviction

We aren’t all attorneys, but we are experienced and able to help returning loved ones through post-conviction relief. As advocates at HOTT, we work closely with our loved ones’ legal counsel in bringing cases back to court with new evidence or other options for a new trial, or new consideration for release. We compliment and support the work of defense attorneys, and we have great relationships with attorneys in the Maryland and Washington DC area. We have a long-standing relationship with the Public Defender’s office in post-conviction as well as in the courts.

Advocacy

Legislation and policy to address:

Justice reform
Prison reform
Re-entry Initiatives
Child welfare reform
Stopping human trafficking
Islamic Rights
Bureau of Prisons Remedies
Social Justice
Human Rights
Civic Involvement
Environment and Climate Change

Peer-to-Peer Counseling

HOTT oversees a special mentorship program led by peers providing guidance for their peers. It includes people going through the same issues in life and looking to learn from others. Facilitated by peer counselors, peer counseling occurs when people share knowledge, experience, emotional support, practical or social help with one another.

Participatory Defense

We work with loved ones, families, and attorneys in participatory defense. Participatory defense is a model for community organizing that encompasses people facing charges, their families, and their communities. The goal is to impact the outcomes of cases and transform the landscape of power in the court system by offering an alternative to jail, prison, camps or cages.

Youth Diversion Leadership Program

We are partnered with schools in Maryland and the DC area. We look forward to partnering with the police departments, courts, Federal and State agencies, and varied organizations to create and push forward with our youth diversion program. We take a two-pronged approach, using preventative measures to avoid incarceration and reduce recidivism rates.

Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood has its challenges. Our volunteer facilitators and peer-to-peer youth volunteers take a hands-on approach; they bring real-world experience as they work in communities to which they belong. HOTT’s program is focused on self-esteem building activities, conflict resolution, civics, social engagement, entrepreneurship, job readiness, financial literacy, school tutoring, and mediation with schools and police departments, all while working with parents, families, and students. We use SAMHSA provided resources as our go-to guide for mental health activities.

GED and Adult Education

HOTT’s Educational Services provide academic, occupational and transitional instructions for returning citizens by keeping the mission of upholding public safety at the forefront by providing educational, library, and employment transitional services in support of their successful re-entry and re-integration into the community.

The GED courses are given by our educational instructors and scores are tracked by a online platform. The work is focused on increasing knowledge and skills in English, mathematics, science, social studies, reading, writing and literature. Educational program staff conduct ongoing assessments of student progress to determine follow-up educational programming for this population.

Thank You for Your Support

Most of the people in our programs leave prison with nothing but the clothing on their back and are expected to succeed. Our re-entry initiative is designed to ease the transition back into society by providing the small things like hygiene and travel that matter most:

toiletries,
undergarments
clothing for interviews
metro cards
UBER and LYFT cards
groceries, and more.

As members of the greater community, we have an obligation to address the causes that lead to crimes and to prevent future offenses from occurring.

Thank you for your donations!

Services

How We Help through our Re-entry Initiatives

Thank You for Your Support

Get in touch - we are ready to help!