27 Jun Missouri Department of Corrections Awards $50,000 Grant to Metro Lutheran Ministry (MLM)
Metro Lutheran Ministry (MLM) was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from Missouri Department of Corrections, Community Reentry Funding to provide employment and housing services to 30 offenders supervised by the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole through its Learning to Earning program.
Employment services will include work readiness classes, assistance with job applications, resumes, and job search activities, as well as follow-up services. Housing services will include assistance with rental deposits and rent. These services align to the Service Supportive Housing preference identifies by the Department of Corrections. Other wrap around services included in the project but not paid for out of this grant include assistance with food or transportation.
Learning to Earning (LTE) is the workforce development portion of Metro Lutheran Ministry’s (MLM) Family Empowerment Continuum, which provides services and case management to help offenders obtain employment and find permanent housing. The program rapidly addresses client’s short-term needs while providing long-term solutions. For offenders, providing these services ensures they have a much higher chance of not returning to prison. LTE is centered on employment supports including competitive employment, rapid job search approach, and individualized job placements based on client preferences, strengths, and work experiences. Once employment is attained, it is vital for clients to budget wisely, reduce debt, and be able to maintain their employment and learn the skills necessary to develop income self-sufficiency through Empowerment Case Management. Through education and support, Learning to Earning assists clients and offenders to stop living from crisis to crisis and instead start saving money, reducing debt, and building assets like a car, a home, or an education.
Over the last 46 years, Metro Lutheran Ministry (MLM) has pioneered new and innovative emergency assistance and housing programs that have become successful, separate non-profits. MLM’s Community Assistance Centers, located in Jackson and Clay counties in Missouri and Wyandotte County in Kansas, seek to assist low-income families and individuals in meeting the challenges of day-to-day living, resolve immediate crises, and prevent future crises. Our holistic approach to services and programs remedy the immediate need for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and transportation. Strengths and outcomes-based counseling, coaching and case management guide receptive clients towards greater independence and self-reliance.