Expanded services and a new place to call home for the local nonprofit Restorative Partners were unveiled on Tuesday.
The nonprofit provides services to those in custody and just getting out.
“Being able to have that security and peace of mind was my first goal," said Thomas Lebert.
Lebert was just released one month ago, and through the organization, has already found housing.
“I've been doing bad my whole life, man," Austyn Fout admitted. "[I want to] just live a good life, man. Be a pillar of my community and just do good.”
Fout, who was released just three weeks ago, is a new client.
As of October 1, Restorative Partners has a new office off Prado Road in San Luis Obispo. That office expands the organization’s services to help formerly incarcerated people, like Fout and Lebert, get back on their feet.
“We're the go-to for the people, the population that need support and someone accompanying them as they move from in to out," explained Sister Theresa Harpin, Restorative Partners Founder and Executive Director.
The new space and new positions were made possible thanks to the renewal of a three-year state grant for adult re-entry services totaling over $4.4 million, which Harpin said is quadruple the amount they received from the same grant three years ago.
“We rallied the troops. We partnered up. We are doing the best we can to step forward and continue our mission," she said.
That mission is to help people like Fout and Lebert, who were released in the past month. Lebert has found transitional housing but is still fighting an uphill battle finding a job.
“But as soon as it came to a felony record, that was the end of that. So that's been a struggle, but I'm sure, you know, God has a plan for me," Lebert said.
In the last 14 years, Restorative Partners has helped thousands of people. Harpin said that with their new space and six new positions, they will be able to help even more.
“Today, we're celebrating. This is a milestone for us. Our clients will have the benefit of accompaniment and actually getting into transitional and permanent housing from these resources," Harpin stated.
And hopefully, one day, those clients will be able to achieve their goals.
“[I hope to] just get a job, work and and start a family and just live in this beautiful community," Fout concluded.
Lebert shared that his goal is to own a home in the next five years.
