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What Is Project COPE?

Accomplishments

Board of Directors and Staff

Congregations that have Supported Teams

Current Partnership Teams

Criminal Justice as Seen in Religious Texts

History

How do I Apply?

Program Description

Our Location

Who is Eligible?

Here is a Summary of Project COPE's Accomplishments:

(Note: these figures were accurate as of December 31, 2008)

• Altogether, 265 partnerships were completed or are in progress.
• More than 30 teams and 300 volunteers have participated or are participating. Teams have included Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Lutheran, AME, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, Society of Friends, Mennonite and non-denominational congregations and groups.
• We have 12 apartment units in three buildings that have served 150 clients since 1991.
• Funding has grown from $250 and 3 donors (1985) to about $60,000 and about 200 donors (2008), plus about $80,000 from congregations, fundraising events and grants.
• Project COPE has served as a model for a dozen other community re-entry support programs nationwide.
• Of those who participate in Project COPE, some two-thirds complete a one-year partnership.
• COPE tracking over 24 years shows that fewer than 14% of graduates have gone back to prison.
• In the last three years, fewer than 5% of COPE participants have gone back to prison. Over the same time period, Missouri’s recidivism rate has been more than 50%, and nationally 65-80% return to prison long-term. The cost of incarceration in Missouri is $16,000 per year.

Beyond the numbers, we know that lives have been touched by Project COPE–both the clients and those who partner with them.