Aurora Grant to Fund Program to Help Women Transition from Prison to College
Manchester, Conn. (August 19, 2015) Women recently released from incarceration at York Correctional Institute, the state’s only prison for women, will benefit from a new program at Manchester Community College, funded by a grant from the Aurora Foundation.
The $20,000 grant will provide seed funding to launch “Free to Succeed.” The pilot will focus on recently released women who have earned their high school diplomas or GEDs and are ready to pursue post-secondary education at the community college level – in this case, at MCC or nearby Capital Community College.
MCC will provide pivotal support services and mentoring after the women’s release that will expedite their enrollment in associate degree programs. MCC, as well as CCC, is part of a consortium that applied for and was awarded the grant. Partners also include Trinity College, which provides educational opportunities within York’s walls; Community Partners in Action (CPA), an organization dedicated to building a better community by providing services to promote accountability, dignity and restoration for people affected by the criminal justice system; and the Judy Dworin Performance project, an organization of professional artists who use the arts as a catalyst for social change.
Specifically, MCC’s Sister-2-Sister program, an established mentoring program that has helped the college address concerns regarding the academic success rates of Latino/Hispanic and African American female students, will ensure that “Free to Succeed” students obtain the support they require, including financial aid assistance. MCC’s Sister-2-Sister program will be one vital component of the program, as will the CONNTAC Educational Opportunity Center, which is part of a federally funded initiative to provide free educational counseling and career-planning services to individuals throughout Connecticut. MCC has an on-site CONNTAC office.
“Participants will attend workshops and receive one-on-one counseling,” according to Ivette Rivera-Dreyer, MCC director of financial aid, who also serves on the CPA board. “They may also qualify for small grants to cover bus passes for reliable transportation to campus and work-study to cover other expenses.”
She added, “The need to increase education in prisons is especially acute for women. Statistics show that the inmates who participated in correctional education programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison than inmates who did not.”
Dr. Gena Glickman, MCC president, noted that the pilot is strongly aligned with the community college mission. “We are pleased to be part of this effort to reach out to a group that has traditionally been left behind,” she said. “The ‘Free to Succeed’ program is a valuable opportunity for us to help provide an education that will give these women a chance to improve their lives and make positive contributions to our communities.”
About the Aurora Foundation: Aurora is the only foundation exclusively focused on the needs of women and girls in Greater Hartford, and it is the only free-standing foundation in Connecticut focused solely on supporting groups that serve women and girls. The foundation’s community grant-making program has awarded $400,000 to more than 44 organizations and directly impacted more than 3,500 women and girls in Greater Hartford.
