RISE received iPads from the Bellevue Papillion Rotary Club in September as a means of case management support in the field. The flexible use and portability is essential to RISE Reentry Specialists as they work one-on-one with program participants navigating their reentry post-incarceration.

Before her opportunity to graduate the RISE In-Prison Program, Jen was moved to a different facility, the Community Correctional Center in Lincoln (often called work release). That didn’t stop her.

The first in-unit cohort of the RISE In-Prison Program at the Nebraska State Penitentiary continues to be progressing well. This is a group of men living in an intentional learning community and going to class together.

At RISE, our mission is to end the generational cycles of incarceration. Our mission comes to fruition in a variety of ways.

Every decision we make at RISE, big and small, starts with this simple question. This is our North Star in everything we do.

“What do you need?”

RISE announced a donation of $20,000 from the Medica Foundation, a community-focused giving arm of Medica funding health initiatives across Nebraska. Medica’s funding of $20,000 goes directly to supporting RISE’s In-Prison Program and Youth & Family Program.

RISE graduates received free Tech Packs from Do Space as a means to support digital equity in Omaha. The Tech Pack program distributed laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, free internet, computer training, and one-on-one technology tutoring - a substantial need for those coming out of incarceration.

The RISE In-Prison Program continued to have programming delays in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as facilities would go into lockdowns for weeks - even months on end. However, our program participants and peer facilitators stayed focused and determined, often meeting with their fellow classmates in housing units, which allowed the program to stay on course.