The Baystate Reentry Network is a dedicated group of volunteers helping individuals and their families involved with the legal system successfully navigate the transition back into the community upon release from incarceration after a sexual offense conviction.
Our program connects returning citizens with mentors who have similar backgrounds navigating a successful return to the community after involvement in the criminal legal system. This shared life experience uniquely positions our mentors to credibly relate to program participants and fosters trust and accountability.
With a client-driven approach, our volunteers engage participants to establish trusting relationships and facilitate a path forward based on an individual’s needs. Our volunteers assist with pre-release planning, help returning citizens establish community supports, and work with their families to prepare for a participant’s return.
Begining in 2012, the Baystate Reentry Network (BRN) was an informal network of individuals dedicated to successfully reintegrating into the Boston community those with a sexually-related conviction. In 2018, a board of directors was created and the once informal network of peers became a 501(c)3 organization reintegratingthroughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts those with a sexual conviction.
Our goal:
To provide the support and tools necessary for a meaningful transition.
BRN is an essential resource for re-emerging citizens with a sexual conviction, providing valuable information critical to re-entry success in areas such as housing, employment, government assistance programs, and compliance with the statutory mandates of probation and registration laws.
We have found that once individuals are released and given appropriate guidance and resources, they can find success and regain a role in society. Since our founding, BRN has enjoyed extraordinary success supporting re-emerging citizens – over 97% of our participants have transitioned successfully back into the community and have never been charged with a new offense. This is no accident, as statistics show that recidivism is reduced when there is a hands-on approach to re-entry and meaningful peer support is offered to individuals. BRN has provided services that have been key to successful transitions that give people hope for an improved future and life.
