THE LIFELINE PROGRAM
The Life Line Program, for incarcerated and formerly incarcertated people and their families, is the newest program of the Atlantic County Women's Center. This outreach program is currently providing services in the Atlantic County Justice Facility in Atlantic County.
Current Services:
Services for Women:
Empowerment Education – a 6-week educational module focused on empowerment and disempowerment in the lives of the women in the group. The group is highly interactive and works to build self awareness in the women. Information about domestic violence, power and control in relationships, sexual respect, and dating rights are all covered.
Individual Counseling Services – counseling is available for both men and women who have experienced sexual violence at any point in their lives, including childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as well as domestic violence. Counseling is offered to victims of domestic violence as well as anyone who witnessed domestic violence as a child and feels it impacted their lives.
Advocacy – referral and resource development for individuals experiencing problems – systems negotiation within and outside the incarceration system.
Services for Men:
Transforming Power – a 6-week violence reduction and anger management education module. An interactive training, the goal of this course is to focus on how and when individuals first experience violence, how that leads to their own coping styles with anger, and what positive emotional management options are available choices. This also introduces alternatives to battering, as many participants report their partners are often the focus of their violence. The model used for this program is a combination of the Alternatives to Violence Project and Changing Lives Through Literature.
Individual Counseling Services – counseling is available for both men and women who have experienced sexual violence, including childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as well as domestic violence at any time in their lives. Counseling is offered to victims of domestic violence as well as anyone who witnessed domestic violence as a child and feels it impacted their lives.
Advocacy – referral and resource development for individuals experiencing problems – systems negotiation within and outside the incarceration system.
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The Gerald L. Gormley Justice Facility
The Gerard L. Gormley Justice Facility opened in 1985 and was built to house 398 inmates. Since that time, the facility has undergone substantial growth and expansion and now houses an average 1000 inmates with custody jurisdiction over an additional 250 inmates who are sentenced to various community programs.
A nationally recognized leader in county correctional facilities, the Atlantic County Department of Public Safety is charged with the operation of the Justice Facility. The New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts has recognized the Justice Facility's inmate classification program by incorporating it into their statewide computer system for use by all associated counties in New Jersey. In October, 1997, the Justice Facility opened its own Correction Officers Academy, certified by the New Jersey Police Training Commission, and graduating its first class in January 1998. The Academy training at the Canale Training Center trains all Atlantic County Correction Officers and will accept trainees from other New Jersey Counties.
The Justice Facility is located at 5060 Atlantic Ave., Mays Landing, New Jersey. It is an Adult Detention Facility housing male and female inmates who are pretrial, county sentenced and in certain instances, state sentenced awaiting shipment or state inmates contracted to the Facility. The Facility has two main sections, the Main Jail Building and the Main Jail Annex. More information is available here.
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Expanded Program Services
The Life Line Program hopes to expand the services offered to post incarcerated individuals and also to family members of people who are incarcerated. In recognizing theimpact detention has on families and communities, the Life Line Program hopes to impact the factors that contribute to people returning to incarceration.
Support groups are a safe way for people to process their experiences and recognize and incorporate how incarceration has impacted their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Non-incarcerated parents are encouraged to contact the program to find out what services are available for children of incarcerated individuals.
Volunteer Opportunities
Anyone interested in volunteering with the Life Line Program can do so by completing the basic 40 hour volunteer training program offered through the Atlantic County Women's Center volunteer program. Once that is completed, the volunteer is able to provide confidential communication to clients. The Life Line Program requires an additional training component and possibly a background check completed by the local county facility as a condition of working within the jail itself.
Contact Information
For additional information or to get involved, please contact Erin O'Hanlon, Director of Community Initiatives, at (609) 601-9925, ext. 201.
