Speak for Those Who Cannot Programs, Inc. (302) 401-8333
Meeting Critical Needs..
Raising Awareness...
Raising Awareness...
Meeting Critical Needs..
SPEAK! Crime & Incarceration Awareness Campaign
According to the (BJS) - Bureau of Justice Statistics the number of individuals 18 and older under correctional supervision hovered around 6.85 million at the end of 2014.*
Delaware Adult Correctional Statistics
2014
National Statistics
2013
Down 50,000
The above number represents a constant decline of about 1% each year since 2007 when the prison population peaked over 7 million under correctional supervision.**
*http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5519
**http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf
***http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=107
****http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfdetail&iid=487
*****http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf (page 8)
******http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/crime/2015/01/19/chief-justice-mass-incarceration-make-us-safer/22001803/
*******http://www.rightfulowner.delaware.gov/Supreme/docs/ATJ-KickoffPressRelease.pdf
********http://www.aecf.org/resources/no-place-for-kids-full-report/
****http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf (page 17)
Note, some of the stats appearing on this page comes from the BJS.gov website and reports from the BJS. See the links above for more details.
At the end of 2014, Delaware ranked 9th in the country for having adults under correctional supervision. A BJS document showed for every 100,000 Delawareans, a little over 3,000 were either incarcerated, paroled or on probation.****
Delaware had 23,300 persons under correctional supervision. Here is the breakdown:
16,300 adults Probation or parole
7,000 adults incarcerated*****
Many Delawareans are concerned about the above alarming stats, the local crime and the racial disparities in the prisons. In response, they are:
- Opening up a dialogue about what should be done
- Taking action
Must reads for more information:
A January 2016 News Journal article by Chris Barrish that details comments made by Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine Jr. at a breakfast on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.******
The December 2014 press release that discusses the commission assemble to research the stats the Chief Justice mentions in the above article.*******
A June 2011 Report by the Criminal Justice Statistical Review Committee entitled, Race and Incarceration in Delaware A Report to the
Delaware General Assembly
Delaware Youth Correctional Statistics
Since 2014, SPEAK! in partnership with New City Church provides HOPE Closet to Delawareans who need it.
We provide:
- Food
- Clothing,
- Personal Care & Household Items
HOPE Closet has a new job posting board and provides free computer access where our clients are able to immediately complete online job applications and conduct job searches.
Click the HOPE Closet icon above for more info.
Join Our New
Inprison & Beyond Classes
When: Sundays at 5:00 - 6:30pm
(beginning April 3rd)
Where: SPEAK!/HOPE Closet
201 Hawthorne Drive
Wilmington, DE 19802
Cost: FREE (all study materials are provided at no cost and are available in English and Spanish)
Benefits: Study the Bible using premier materials that easy to understand.
Always: Free coffee, tea & pastries
Who: All are welcomed. This class is perfect for those who:
- Don't attend church regularly
- Want to grow in their understanding of Scripture and their faith
The Inprison & Beyond Bible study could be the place where you become a new creation.
It does not matter whether you talk to a prison employee or a prison ministry volunteer, all seem to agree on one point. After being released from prison ex-offenders, recovering addicts... face seemingly insurmountable challenges in their local communities as they try re-join society. Today it is difficult for many citizens to find employment, but those with arrest records statistically even less likely to be hired. Due to lack of employment opportunities for ex-offenders, within months of being released from prison, they also find themselves without housing, food and clothing.
Members of local communities (residents, churches, nonprofits, businesses and government) have to acknowledge the issue and come up with a multi-level plan of approach and begin working together.
The Casey Foundation has done extensive research on the juvenile justice system and has this to say, "Backed with an array of research, the case against America’s youth prisons and correctional training schools can be neatly summarized in five words: dangerous, ineffective, unnecessary, wasteful and inadequate."********
What happens when these men, women and youth are released back into their community or the community where they were incarcerated?
On their website, The Sentencing Project states the following: "The United States is the world's leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation's prisons or jails -- a 500% increase over the past thirty years."***
We are excited to announce that Community Bible Study Inprison & Beyond Classes are now being offered. See below for more information.
SPEAK! has become part of the solution in Delaware by working with others to identify the issues surrounding crime and incarceration while developing tangible solutions in its community.
ESL - English as a Second Language Class if forming now. Go to the HOPE Closet page for information on how to contact us.