Community re-entry program to have March event

Jan. 27—DANVILLE — A new partnership was announced at Friday morning's Step Up Vermilion County meeting at Second Church of Christ in Danville for the community-based re-entry program that helps people who have been incarcerated or convicted of a crime and are on probation or parole, re-enter the community successfully.

Dale DeNeal, one of the ministers at Second Church of Christ and who serves on several boards in the community including with CORE (which stands for Community Opportunities, Resources and Employment) Re-Entry program, said the program has a new partnership with Vermilion Advantage.

CORE Re-Entry program was established about a year ago in Vermilion County.

It was born out of the lived experience of its founder Michael Brawn, who served 16-plus years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 14 and a half of those years at the Danville Correctional Center.

Re-entering society is difficult and asking for help can be hard, according to Brawn and CORE Re-Entry's board members. They believe the program can make the transition easier by connecting people to a variety of resources that exist and supporting those efforts through a peer-to-peer coaching model.

Their mission is to connect support services for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in Vermilion County.

CORE Re-Entry's next event will be at 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 6 at Danville Area Community College's Bremer Conference Center. It's a special version of Vermilion Advantage's quarterly Human Resources and Safety Council meetings. It's being called "A Second Chance Coalition."

Nicole Van Hyfte with Vermilion Advantage said they focus on workforce development, and she feels that this is an untapped resource, and they can meet people trying to re-enter the community where they are.

There will be a panel discussion at the March 6 event, in addition to a lunch. Those interested in attending can find out more information through Vermilion Advantage, and send them an RSVP for a lunch count.

Step Up Vermilion County is an independent non-profit organization focused on addressing critical issues in the community, including parenting and families, substance abuse and mental health. The mission of Step Up Vermilion County is to bring the community together, identify and address current challenges facing the county. Step Up focuses on empowering growth and development and creating positive economic, educational, social and spiritual outcomes.