THIS IS HOW WE WALK WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Getting a list of resources isn't the same as having someone in your corner.

At Names Over Numbers, support starts with getting to know you. Your goals. Your challenges. Your strengths. The barriers standing in your way and the future you're trying to build.

When you come to us for support, our goal isn't simply to tell you where to go next. It's to walk alongside you as you get there. That means listening, helping you build a plan, working through obstacles with you, connecting you with the right people and programs, and advocating for you when you need someone in your corner.

Your story is personal. Your support should be too.

YOUR PERSONAL REENTRY ADVOCATE

You shouldn't have to explain your story to ten different people just to figure out where to start.

We'll take the time to understand where you are right now, what you want for your future, what's working, and what's standing in your way. Together, we'll identify your priorities and create realistic next steps. Your advocate can help you navigate those steps, follow up on obstacles, and adjust the plan when life doesn't cooperate.

You bring us the whole situation. We'll help you start making sense of it.

EMPLOYMENT & CAREER

Finding work after incarceration can mean dealing with applications that ask about your past, gaps in employment, employers who won't give you a chance, or simply not knowing how to explain everything you've been through.

We'll work with you individually to identify your strengths and the kind of work you're actually trying to build toward. That can include searching for opportunities, working on your resume, completing applications, preparing for interviews, connecting with fair-chance employers and workforce programs, and helping you navigate barriers along the way.

We're not just helping you find a job. We're helping you build a path forward.

HOUSING & BASIC NEEDS

Sometimes moving forward starts with something much more immediate: Where am I going to sleep? How am I going to eat? How do I get to work tomorrow?

We'll help you navigate housing resources, transitional programs, food assistance, clothing, transportation, identification documents, benefits, and other essential needs. And when an application or process becomes confusing, we'll help you work through it rather than simply handing you another phone number.

Because it's hard to build a future when you're still fighting to survive today.

EDUCATION, TRAINING & SCHOLARSHIPS

Maybe incarceration interrupted your education. Maybe college was never something you thought was possible. Or maybe you're ready now in a way you weren't before.

We'll sit down with you and explore what makes sense for your goals, whether that's college, a trade, vocational training, certification, or another educational path. We can help you understand enrollment, applications, financial aid, and available educational resources.

Names Over Numbers also intends to provide scholarship opportunities to help eligible individuals with the costs of pursuing education and training as funding becomes available.

Your past doesn't get to decide how far you're allowed to go.

FAMILY, COMMUNITY & RELATIONSHIPS

Coming home doesn't automatically put everything back together.

Children have grown. Relationships have changed. Trust may need to be rebuilt. And sometimes the people you once depended on aren't there anymore.

We'll listen without judgment and help connect you with family reunification resources, parenting support, mentorship, community programs, and other services that can help you rebuild healthy relationships and a support system around you.

Reentry isn't only about rebuilding a life. Sometimes it's about rebuilding the connections that make that life worth living.

SUPPORT GROUPS & PEER CONNECTION

There are things about incarceration and coming home that are difficult to explain to someone who hasn't lived them.

Names Over Numbers will create opportunities for people with shared experiences to come together, talk openly, listen, learn from one another, and realize they're not navigating this alone.

Our support groups are intended to provide a respectful space for conversation, accountability, encouragement, and connection without reducing anyone to their record or the worst chapter of their life.

Sometimes the person who understands what you're carrying is someone who's carried it too.

MENTAL HEALTH, RECOVERY & WELLNESS

Coming home can carry things nobody sees: stress, anger, grief, addiction, damaged relationships, isolation, fear, or simply the pressure of trying to rebuild everything at once.

You don't have to pretend those things aren't there.

We'll listen, help you identify what kind of support may be useful, and connect you with qualified mental-health professionals, recovery programs, peer-support organizations, and other appropriate services. When possible, we'll help you navigate the process of actually accessing that care.

Asking for help isn't the end of your strength. Sometimes it's how you start getting it back.

LEGAL & RECORD-RELATED BARRIERS

A sentence can end while its consequences keep showing up on applications, background checks, licenses, housing decisions, and countless other places.

While Names Over Numbers does not provide legal advice, we'll help you identify appropriate legal-aid organizations and community resources that may assist with record-related barriers, expungement or record-relief eligibility, and other reentry-related legal concerns.

And when the system becomes a maze of agencies and paperwork, your advocate can help you understand where you're supposed to go next.

You shouldn't need a law degree just to figure out who can answer your question.

OPPORTUNITY & COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Sometimes the resource you need isn't a program. It's a person willing to open a door.

We're working to build relationships with employers, educators, community organizations, volunteers, mentors, service providers, and others who believe people deserve meaningful opportunities after incarceration.

When there's a connection that makes sense for your goals, we'll work to help make that connection rather than simply pointing you toward it.

Because opportunity becomes a lot more powerful when somebody is willing to introduce you to it.

WHATEVER YOUR NEXT STEP LOOKS LIKE WE’LL BE RIGHT THERE

Your situation may not fit neatly into one of these categories.

That's okay.

You may not know exactly what you need. You might have several problems happening at once. You may just need someone to sit down, listen to what's going on, and help you figure out which problem needs to be handled first.

That's exactly where we can start.

Tell us what's happening. Tell us what you've tried. Tell us where you want to go.

Then we'll work with you to figure out the next step.