T.O.R.I. Fact Sheet

WHO:
Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.) guides and empowers ex-offenders to maximize their potential, increases their opportunities for successful reintegration into society and assists them in becoming productive citizens of their communities.

WHAT:
T.O.R.I. is a program of the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by Bishop T. D. Jakes to bridge economic voids existing in urban America.  T.O.R.I. began offering services in January 2005, and since that time has served over 7,000 formerly incarcerated individuals across the state of Texas.

T.O.R.I. is an intensive 12-month case management program that offers six core comprehensive services that the majority of formerly incarcerated clients need upon release. These services include: employment, housing, education, family reunification, health care and spiritual guidance.  By addressing and providing resources in these six key areas, T.O.R.I. seeks to aid and empower ex-offenders to achieve successful re-entry and a new lifestyle free of crime.  

WHERE:
T.O.R.I. serves the five cities in Texas with the highest release rates of ex-offenders: Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Houston.

WHY:

• Inmate population in Texas increased 61.5 percent between 1995 and 2000.*
• The American correctional system costs tax payers $60 billion per year.**
• In Texas, more than 70,000 prisoners are released each year.***
• In Texas, it costs $49.40 per inmate per day to incarcerate offenders.***
• It costs only $.98 per day to rehabilitate ex-offenders through the T.O.R.I. program.
• Recidivism continues to be a problem in the U.S. with 67 percent of former prisoners re-arrested and 52 percent re-incarcerated
  within three years of their release.****
• The T.O.R.I. program recidivism rate is at a low eight percent.

Program Success in 2009

• Case Management – served 160 clients, 88 percent of whom were in the 20-49 age group
• Employment Coaching and Placement – served 850 clients through training and job referrals
• Housing – served 735 clients, including 537 through the Dallas Housing Authority Section 8 voucher project
• Education – served 936 clients, including those who attended trade schools, received vocational certifications and attended GED classes
• Healthcare – served 522 clients, including 33 who completed T.O.R.I.’s intensive, 25-week Substance Abuse Support Group program
• Family Reunification – served 280 clients though individual and family counseling; served 658 children through the Angel Tree program, after school tutoring, summer programs and mentorship projects
• Spiritual Guidance – served 538 clients, 200 of whom participated in the ManPower and Woman Thou Art Loosed conferences sponsored by The Potter’s House of Dallas; served 23 clients through successful mentor matches with faith-based volunteers, and 33 children through the BIG Brothers/BIG Sisters AMACHI Texas program.

 
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Rehabilitation programs like T.O.R.I. can help reduce the rate of recidivism by rebuilding lives for $.98 per ex-offender per day.  By investing in T.O.R.I., former offenders are not only helped to reintegrate back into society, but lives are rebuilt that will impact future generations. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made online or by mailing a check or money order to:

Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (T.O.R.I.) Dallas
P.O. Box 4386
Dallas, TX 75208

 

---

 

* Justice Policy Institute, 2000

** Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, 2006

*** Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2008

**** Bureau of Justice