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Go Home 2 Stay Home

Providing resources for our formerly incarcerated community! Giving them a hand up during their re-entry!

Leader

Kimberly Lipfird

Location

4414 West 194th Cleveland, OH 44135

About the project

Go Home 2 Stay Home was created in 2015 at Grafton Correction Facility by a few determined inmates, who were ready to reform and establish lives outside of prison. The group worked hard to provide street clothes, food vouchers and bus passes. As the group started to grow the need of more donations of clothes and shoes grew.

In 2016 it was an extremely cold January, I took to social media to ask family and friends for new and used clothes, shoes, coats, hats & gloves. They responded very generously. Soon there were over 100 bags of clothes. The donations were all packed up and taken to the mission. Go home 2 stay home members seen this and reached out.
I had never been to a prison, I did not know what to expect. I was nervous and second guessing myself. My determination decided there was no way in turning back.  A partnership was formed and the men’s clothes and shoes started to flow in.  
Go Home 2 Stay home was growing rapidly. The need for community service hours was great. Several projects were created to not only give them a sense of purpose and learning a new skill, they were working to reduce the fines owed to the courts. Members have been able to pay back over $150,000 in court cost and fines.
In 2020 when Covid happened that all changed. No one was allowed in the prison and the community service came to a crashing halt. As the months passed I kept thinking I needed to help. In January of 2021 Go Home 2 Stay Home was filed as a 501 3 non-profit organization, in May of 2021 it was granted.
 

 

The Steps

Purchase and collected items currently in need as people are being released.

 

Why we‘re doing it

The mission is to not only help behind the prison walls but also help as they reenter the communities.  The goal of this organization is to keep former inmates off the streets and to decrease the recidivism rates. As an organization, we want to set an example for inmates and show them there is a life outside of prison, and to show the public that they are not a lost cause.
Many newly release people do not have a place to stay as most of the family and friends have given up on them. Go home 2 stay home would like to offer housing, job training and resources needed to keep them from reoffending again.
Through partnerships with other organizations, we believe we can get help from donations. By working together, we plan to align with organizations that fit the goals and visions of Go home 2 stay home. By keeping former inmates out of prison and giving current inmates hope, we’re also working to lower the crimes rates and keep our streets cleaner and safer for the people of Northeast Ohio.

$2,577.00 still needed of $2,577.00