This week, an Ashburn nonprofit is helping facilitate a gathering in Richmond of groups that can help recently released prisoners acclimate back into society.

Prison Fellowship, the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, joined with various agencies in Virginia to host Out4Life July 26-28.

Virginia Out4Life brought together government members, business members, social service organization and faith communities to tackle the state’s re-entry issue.

Statistics show that one of every three prisoners released in Virginia is back behind bars within three years.

Prison fellowship’s goal is to reverse that trend, not only to enhance public safety but also to save taxpayer dollars.

The goal of Out4Life is to help community organizations band together to assist released inmates in finding steady jobs, adequate housing, substance abuse treatment and supportive relationships so they can be law-abiding citizens instead of repeat offenders.

One of the speakers at Virginia Out4Life was Mark Earley, former Virginia attorney general who is Prison Fellowship’s president and chief executive officer.
Virginia is the 10th state to launch an Out4Life program. It joins Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas.

For more on Prison Fellowship, log on to http://www.prisonfellowship.org.