A Columbus non-profit organization is expanding with the help of a United Way grant.
SILO — Supporting Inmates and their Loved Ones — is a Columbus support group for convicted felons trying to transition from incarceration to society was founded in 2013. The group has hit its stride this year, attracting a wide range of leaders from the public and private sector to its board and moving into a new office off Military Road.
The organization recently received a $3,700 Venture Grant from the Lowndes County branch of the United Way, according to SILO founder Quincy Brooks.
Brooks said the grant money will allow SILO to sponsor two programs: “Love Thy Neighbor” and “SILO Academy.”
SILO Academy will be a class that teaches former inmates how to re-enter society, Brooks said. It will focus on cultural adjustments and job training, which Brooks said is critical because all former inmates are required to pay their parole officer $55 each time they meet, and failure to pay could lead to further incarceration.
Love Thy Neighbor seeks to support former inmates and their family on a spiritual and academic level.
“We usually have some clergy come in and speak to the guys and girls,” Brooks said. “We’re looking for someone who is GED certified so we can implement adult basic education.”
SILO is meeting in their new building at 516 Military Road, which was donated to them in June by a former youth ministry. The group has been restoring the building and has completed work on the outside. Brooks said the interior is coming along too, with ceilings and walls completed. They recently began painting the inside.
Brooks serves as executive director of SILO. The current board includes Michael Jago as president, Timothy Bourne, Nicole Clinkscales, Dennis Holliman, Lisa Younger Neese, Jimmy Sanders, Willie “Sonny” Sanders and Nancy Wicks. They share the commitment to defined goals that even include establishment of a halfway house that can help prisoners transition successfully. The closest one now is in Jackson, said Brooks.
SILO hopes to help convicted felons stop the revolving door, to become members of a community rather than members of a prison population, something that has become a hot button issue nationwide. This week, President Barack Obama hosted a meeting with 130 police chiefs and prosecutors from across the nation about reducing prison populations. On Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Smarter Sentencing Act, sending the bill to the floor for a vote in the coming weeks.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Mississippi has the second highest per capita rate in the nation.
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