by Gene Marrano
A Roanoke-based agency that helps ex-offenders readapt to society will try its first fundraiser on for size later this month. Virginia Cares, a non-profit largely funded by the General Assembly, will attempt to raise private funds via a dinner and silent auction on September 29 at Hotel Roanoke. Festivities get underway at 5 p.m. with a cash bar; tickets are $40 per person or $300 for a table of ten. VA Cares requests that reservations be made by September 19.
Executive director Ann Fisher said VA Cares helps with issues like employment, transportation, housing and establishing ID cards. After a needs assessment is done, an ex-offender is paired up with a case manager for more one-on-one attention. VA Cares, which has subcontracted offices across the state, also goes into prisons, speaking with inmates as it tries to prepare them for life on the outside.
Fisher said the agency has a list of employers in the area “that are willing to work with our population.” The current high unemployment rate makes it harder for ex-cons to stay away from their previous life – such as dealing drugs – in a search for income. “We have to fight that immediate need for cash [by] trying to instill some self-pride,” said Fisher. “Drug charges on someone’s record makes it harder to find decent housing as well, in some cases,” according to Fisher.
Virginia Cares goes in depth with clients after the basic needs are met, on issues like specific job training, court records, child support and education. Referrals come from a state reentry program; others are walk-ins and some have seen VA Cares when it has done presentations in local jails. The agency originated as a function of TAP 35 years ago before being spun off on its own.
Fisher said they do receive some federal funding via a block grant but that was “cut significantly” this year—one reason they are planning a fundraiser. On the state level however, “Governor [Bob] McDonnell has been extremely nice to us.” Fisher said reentry is a “pet project” for the governor, a former state Attorney General who has initiated a task force on helping ex-offenders assimilate more easily into mainstream society.
McDonnell is a “firm believer that if you do a crime you do the time,” noted Fisher, “but he’s [also] a firm believer that when you get out it’s time to start putting things in line, to get back into the community and be productive.” She said McDonnell’s task force has included courts, juvenile authorities, mental health agencies and community programs like VA Cares, helping to make reentry a more successful endeavor. “He’s well aware that if we don’t work to get [ex-offenders] back into the mainstream we increase the chances of them returning to the institutions,” she added.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of restoring the confidence of an ex-offender,” said Fisher, “often with the help of counseling, assuring them that they do have a place in mainstream society.” At the September 29 fundraiser, Delegate Onzlee Ware will be the keynote speaker. Ware had his own brush with the law as a young man, but got back on track to become an attorney and then an elected official.
Ware has also worked hard on the restoration of rights for ex-offenders, according to Fisher. Virginia is one of only two states she noted, where voting rights are not automatically restored after a person serves their time and takes care of any court costs or fines. After a waiting period in Virginia an application has to be made to the governor. The process has been made somewhat easier in recent administrations.
McDonnell “has been very dedicated to this,” said Fisher. She noted that Ware would like to see voting rights restored automatically but he knows that will be hard to get through the General Assembly. Instead the Roanoke City/Vinton area delegate has worked to streamline the current process.
The September 29 fundraiser will auction off items like Virginia Tech football tickets, Roanoke Civic Center event passes, jewelry, music lessons and furniture. “It’s an attempt by us to replace the federal dollars lost this year,” said Fisher. “That affects greatly our ability to train our staff and [provide] the actual services for our ex-offenders. [Local] communities are safer because individuals come through our program.”
For more information call (540) 342-9344 x105 or email [email protected]. Or see the website: vacares.org.
