COMMUNITY BASED, PERSON-CENTERED SUPPORT

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Our reentry house is a safe, supportive home for community members returning from prison.

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• We believe people returning from prison deserve the same respect, equity, and support that everyone else deserves. 

• We also believe in honoring each person’s agency. We fiercely support each person’s freedom to define what “thriving” looks like for them, and to pursue the goals they set for themselves. 

• We welcome residents to stay for as long as they need to. This is a space to gain their bearings, breathe easy, and feel safe as they figure out their path in the world, at their own pace. 

• During their stay, residents can count on all their basic needs being met – clothing, food, transportation, a safe place to sleep – and become part of a mutually supportive community. 

• Together, residents in the house create their own community. Collectively, they make all the decisions that relate to their living conditions. 

• The only “rule” in our reentry house is reflected in our name, ahimsa, a Sanskrit word that means “do no harm.” 

• When conflicts and new challenges arise, we trust ourselves and each other to work things out through honest communication. 

• We oppose exploitative approaches to reentry housing in which state or private entities seek to profit from the struggles of the people they purport to serve. 

• Equally, we oppose any approach that reproduces the dynamics of the carceral system by depriving people of agency, dignity, and freedom.