FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Public Relations: publicrelations@tdjakes.org
BISHOP T.D. JAKES HELPS FORMER OFFENDERS CREATE A NEW LIFE
Texas Offenders Re-entry Initiative graduates 109, illustrating ceremony’s theme;
“I Am More…”
DALLAS, March 11, 2012 – Bishop T.D. Jakes and The Potter’s House of Dallas, Inc. will celebrate the graduation of 109 ex-offenders on Sunday March 17, 2013 at 9 a.m. CDT from the Texas Offenders Re-entry Initiative (T.O.R.I.), a year-long program that helps former inmates transition to life outside the penal system thereby dramatically increasing their chances for success while reducing the likelihood of recidivism. The ceremony will be held at The Potter’s House at 6777 W. Kiest Blvd. in Dallas.
Texas has one of the largest prison populations in the United States with a cost of $49.40 per inmate per day to incarcerate, versus only $.98 per day to rehabilitate ex-offenders through the T.O.R.I. program. The U.S. recidivism rate is 67 percent of former prisoners re-arrested and 52 percent re-incarcerated within three years of their release—but The Potter’s House is working to decrease that number. The T.O.R.I. program recidivism rate is at a low nine percent.
Founded in December 2004 by Bishop Jakes, T.O.R.I. is an intensive 12-month case management program that offers six core services: employment, housing, education, family reunification, health care and spiritual guidance. Since its inception, T.O.R.I. has served more than 7,000 formerly incarcerated individuals returning to Texas.
“The proof of T.O.R.I.’s effectiveness is clearly indicated in its extraordinary low recidivism rate,” said Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor at The Potter’s House and founder of T.O.R.I. “We applaud our graduates for completing this program and our alumni who apply the lessons learned and continually work hard to beat the statistics.”
Noted actor and director Charles S. Dutton will deliver the keynote address to the graduating hopefuls and an array of Dallas dignitaries, judges and special guests in attendance, including the friends and families of the graduating class.
Charles S. Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director, best known for his roles as “Fortune” in the film Rudy, “Dillon” in Alien 3, and the title role in the television sitcom “Roc”.
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More than his celebrity, Dutton’s personal story equips him to deliver a keynote address that will resonate with graduates and attendees, alike. Recently, he embarked on a new one-man play entitled, “From Jail to Yale: Serving Time on Stage,” an autobiographical take on his journey from the prison system to the playhouses of Yale.
Due to the program’s success rate and high need for the program’s services, T.O.R.I. is working to expand to include even more ex-offenders. “The best way to get ahead of the demand is for individuals, corporations, and foundations to rally around T.O.R.I.’s mission and support it so we can expand our services, serve more people and end the cycle of incarceration indefinitely,” said Tina Naidoo, a licensed social worker and executive director of T.O.R.I.
INTERVIEW/B-ROLL OPPORTUNITIES:
• Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House of Dallas; founder of the T.O.R.I. program
• Tina Naidoo, executive director of the T.O.R.I. program
• T.O.R.I. graduates
• Dignitaries in attendance
• B-roll/photos available upon request
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About The Potter’s House
Located in Dallas, The Potter’s House is a 30,000-member nondenominational, multicultural church and humanitarian organization led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as “America’s Best Preacher” and as one of the nation’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals.” The Potter’s House has five locations, The Potter’s House of Dallas, The Potter’s House of Fort Worth, The Potter’s House of North Dallas, and The Potter’s House of Denver and a Spanish language church, Casa de Fe. 54.201.250.106.
About Texas Offenders Re-entry Initiative (T.O.R.I.)
Founded in December 2004 by Bishop T.D. Jakes, under the umbrella of the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization that bridges economic voids in urban America, T.O.R.I. is an intensive 12-month case management program that offers six core services that the majority of formerly incarcerated clients need, including: employment, housing, education, family reunification, health care and spiritual guidance. Since its inception, T.O.R.I. has served more than 7,100 formerly incarcerated individuals who have returned home to Texas.www.medc-TORI.org.