Damascus Prison Facilitators welcome new Reentry Graduates

After a 16-month COVID pause in 2020 and 2021, Damascus reentry facilitators returned to Ohio prisons to deliver the reentry curriculum.

Facilitators Kelley Patmon, Beverly Smith, Mike Carr, and Chief Strategy Officer, Christine Marallen, provide 10-week, twice-weekly classes that address both the catalysts for poor decisions (trauma, bias, poverty) and the possibilities for moving forward (choices, forgiveness, employment).

The men featured in the photos above and to the right graduated from the classes at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF), located in Lucasville. The women graduated at Dayton Correctional Institution.

"Congratulations to all of you," said SOCF Warden, Ron Erdos, to the Graduates in Kelley Patmon's class. "You have truly accomplished something here today, so go do something great with what you've learned. Don't let (SOCF) be your legacy."

The Damascus curriculum is currently taught at high-security institutions throughout Central and SW Ohio, as well as community based correctional facilities.

More information about the Damascus Reentry Correctional Program can be found at www.teamdamascus.com and the box below.

Damascus is a 501(c)(3) prison, reentry and staffing organization headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Your contribution is tax-deductible. It also changes the world.

Damascus partners with Stanford University's d.school Action Lab

Damascus was selected as a participant in the 2022 Stanford University d.school Action Lab for its Damascus Village reentry community project.

"We respect the work you do," said Susie Chang, Program Manager at Stanford's d.school. "It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 2022 Action Lab and join an exciting cohort of fellow social impact teams!"

Stanford design school Action Lab is a project accelerator and selection for the 2022 Action Lab allows Damascus to create a more "human-centered, equitable, and effective initiative" for those returning home from incarceration in Ohio. It also creates a model for scalable reentry communities.

"Damascus Village will be a place where hundreds of individuals can take the first next step to staying out of prison," said Christine Marallen, Damascus Chief Strategy Officer. "The sooner we can build it, the sooner the reincarceration rates can drop further."

Five members of the Damascus Team will participate in the Stanford Action Lab, which begins in March.

Damascus Village is in the development stages, with plans to open its doors in early 2024 for 200 individuals returning home from incarceration in Ohio.

Damascus Regional Client Manager: Carly Stock

Carly Stock has moved the needle on the Damascus Mission and reentry in the Midwest since 2018. And she's just getting started.

As the Regional Client Manager, Carly oversees a team of Damascus Client Representatives, as well as the Transportation Team in Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Her staff is the front line for individuals who are returning home from prison, ensuring that individuals enjoy as much (or as little) social support as they need to live out the goals they have prepared for themselves.

"I like being part of something that no one else is doing this way," Carly said about the Damascus Model. "The impact is real and we see it every day."

Throughout the week, Carly and her team meet with individuals who are returning home from incarceration, whether they are in the regional halfway houses, sober living facilities or in some other living situation. Assessing their level of stability and matching them with employment opportunities, Carly's team places men and women into work opportunities and delivers them to the partner employers via Damascus shuttles.

"You can easily see the effects of what we're doing," Carly said. "Everything Damascus does is intentional and that has impact. Our workers consistently tell us that they feel cared for. That always outweighs the long, hard days."

Damascus Transportation is now FREE!

CEO Todd Marallen & CSO Christine Marallen

Mission and Vision

Our Mission

To be the standard bearer in unconventional, scalable and sustainable solutions in incarceration, reentry, and the workforce in order to elevate individuals, communities, corporations and the country.

Our Vision

To solve an expansive and expensive social problem and permanently change the narrative about incarceration and reentry in the United States.