In 2011, Sustainable Alamance has helped place 18 men and women, with criminal histories,  into full time employment... up from 6 in 2010.    This will represent close to $300,000 in wages, thousands in taxes, dozens of children receiving child support.   Out of the 18, we had only 1 return to prison,  a 6% recidivism rate,  a 90% percent reduction in recidivism.   The cost savings to the NC taxpayer for these 18  is approximately $0.6 million a year …  the cost of incarceration.    This comes on the heels of the state spending millions in their past.

But let's be clear, all the numbers and wages and tax savings is NOT why we do this.   We do this for the following reasons.

1.        People matter to God….. all people…… regardless of what we did in the past.

2.       God came to visit us to fix what was broken.   Remember that Jesus not only healed the lepers'  physical illness but he sent them back to the temple… He restored them to the community.

3.       Society has been using the wrong ruler to measure the worth and value of people.  A person's value is not determined by their economic station in life.  People have value because they are God's creation.

4.       Just as important…… lives are being changed, families are being restored, men are becoming fathers, and they all have a chance to show the community what a changed life looks like.