Truly Reaching You reentry program for men

What does T.R.Y. stand for? Well, Truly Reaching You was founded by Perry Clark who’ve started this program about 20-years ago after serving time in prison himself.

And as Recovery manager, Ronald Williams says, “It’s a time to bring men hope because a lot of these men are coming out from the inside, or coming from the streets from drug and alcohol problems, and they need the hope that, to know that different relationships can be restored.”

The reentry program is located in Akron, Ohio where they currently house 19 participants.

Williams says, “Most of the men that come through our program end up restoring their relationships with their families if they complete the program.”

He says this program can last from nine months to a year, but you have some participants who only last two days in the program.

“We only had one person who completed the program and went right back to prison,” says Williams.

So, what’s the process to join? The process goes like this…first, you could write a letter to the program.

Williams says, “whenever we’re in there for resource fair, we leave pamphlets and things of that nature there for the men if they want to get in contact with us.”

Next, someone within the program like Williams would be able to send a letter with further information about the program.

“If they’re interested give my email to their case worker, and their case worker get in touch with me and we’ll have an interview,” says Williams.

If you’re in prison, the interview process will have three parts.

“It’s a phone screening base thing with me and then it’s a second interview or phone interview with my supervisor Steve and myself. Then it’s a third one where Perry goes to the institution and interviews them face-to-face,” says Williams.

And from there, if you pass the interview then you’ll be making your debut into the program.

Soon after, you’ll be required to attend an orientation, fill out paperwork and anything else the program needs completed.

Current participant, Bill Burnette, of the reentry program says, “It’s about rebuilding connections and do good, want better for ourselves and better all the men around us, the better people around us. That will bleed out into society and produce something good, something beautiful.”

With Burnette’s past, he believes that TRY is one of the reasons he is still here doing better today.

“All the hard work I do here, everything I do, every piece of luggage I get rid of, every regret, every resentment is going to show my children that hey I’m serious about this now,” says Burnette.

As for Ben Webster, another participant of the reentry program, says “my intentions are to be successful finally for the first time in my life, build my relationship with God, so that I cannot be easily shaken like I was in the past.”

Burnette also says, “I stand up straighter today because of the time that I’ve been able to work on myself and then because of the commitment I made to working on myself.”

That’s why Williams stress the fact that, to complete this program you may have to get rid of those unhealthy relationships, and says with the help of TRY you’ll be provided the support you need.