Inside Out Network, with Rev. Fred Nelson (New Spirit, Tucson) as Executive Director, is a new strategic ministry of the Grand Canyon Synod, helping reshape reentry for people leaving incarceration with their ground-breaking, invisibility-busting ION online platform that allows returning citizens and service providers to communicate directly with each other. Think of ION as "eHarmony for reentry."

Learn how you can help and more about this ministry in this post, this front-page AZ Daily Star article, and the ION website.

Who we are

We’re the Inside Out Network, a nonprofit birthed in Chicago and now based in Tucson, AZ. We’re also a strategic ministry of the Grand Canyon Synod. We’re helping reshape reentry for people leaving incarceration with our ground-breaking, invisibility-busting ION online platform that allows returning citizens and service providers to see and be seen and to communicate directly with each other. Think of us as "eHarmony for reentry."

ION makes it easy for both returning citizens and service providers to search, find relevant matches, connect with, and even reach out proactively and message each other on our platform—beginning pre-release. Our platform empowers men and women to take charge of their reentry experience by seeking and finding the help they both need and want. 

What we’re doing

We’ve already forged partnerships with departments of corrections and launched the ION platform across the states of Arizona and Illinois. System-wide, we currently have over 3,000 returning citizens and 350 service providers registered and active, with more added daily.

We’re now looking to broaden and deepen our engagement in those states while expanding to three additional states by the end of 2023. We want to see 20,000 returning citizens and 850 service providers (including hundreds of churches) actively engaging with each other on the ION platform by that time.

We’re accomplishing this with a combination of paid staff, student interns from Arizona State University, and church volunteers. Our longer-term twin goals are (a) to expand nationally and (b) to migrate our platform onto inmate tablets, which are quickly becoming ubiquitous.

Having ION available both pre- and post-release will improve health outcomes, bolster public safety, reduce homelessness, help reduce recidivism, and avoid enormous frustration, wasted time, and lost human potential for literally hundreds of thousands of men and women.

Why it matters

ION matters because people matter. Every year, more than 600,000 people are released from state prisons across the country, with many more released from federal prisons and county jails. In nearly all these cases, returning citizens step into a reentry landscape that is largely unmapped, fragmented, uncoordinated, ineffective, inefficient, and plagued by the twin systemic evils of invisibility and  isolation.

Because of poor communication, constantly changing service providers, and out-of-date or incomplete information, most returning citizens simply cannot see the path to the help that is out there for them. At the same time, week after week, life-changing programs go undersubscribed, job-training classes operate below capacity, halfway houses have unfilled beds, and ministries are being shut down because service providers lack an effective way to connect to and communicate with returning citizens in real time. 

The system isn't working well for anyone. The consequences of this failed system include poor health outcomes, high rates of recidivism, and a generational cycle of despair.

Bottom line: The problem is not that people are stupid or lazy oruncaring. The problem is that they are isolated and invisible. The problem is that people are disconnected.That is what ION is helping to fix.

Our mission

In the Spirit of Christ, we want to reach and bring practical and spiritual help and hope to every inmate and returning citizen we encounter as well as help bring large-scale transformation to the wider systems we live and work in—systems that are plagued by invisibility and isolation.

ION’s mission is one of connecting: We help returning citizens, service providers, and churches connect with each other in effective ways to change everyone's experience of reentry. With broad experience over 15 years in both prison and reentry ministry, we have developed a reputation for being credible, consistent, creative, and collaborative.

Our feet are firmly planted both in the faith community and in solidarity with secular service providers. We have a passion for the prison yard and the reentry space. We love inmates and returning citizens. We embrace our Lord’s mission to reach and bring his help and hope to every individual we encounter as well as helping to bring about large-scale, systemic transformation.

Partner with us

ION is growing, and we’re looking for like-minded folks to partner with us to help us change reentry for the better. There are two key ways you can help:

• Become a volunteer. There are two ways to volunteer with ION. You can join our volunteer data-entry team. Every few weeks, volunteers receive a packet of completed returning citizen registration forms from prison staff. The volunteer enters that data into the ION website and creates a personal profile for each returning citizen. Each form takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Training and supervision are provided. Or join our service provider registration team. This team reaches out during normal office hours by email and phone to prospective reentry service providers. If you like meeting and interacting with new people, this could be a great fit for you.

• Make a donation. We’re always looking for generous folks to help underwrite and fuel our vision for changing reentry for the better. You can donate financially to ION by sending a check to the address below. Or go to our secure online donation page to set up a one-time or recurring donation. ION is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, so your gift is fully deductible as a charitable contribution.

Let’s connect!

Contact: Fred Nelson, Executive Director
Phone: 847-323-3774
Email: fred@insideoutnetwork.net
Website: https://insideoutnetwork.net/overview
Online Donation page: https://secure.myvanco.com/YGKR/campaign/C-YGXA