Program areas at REAP
Client housing: reap serves felons ("clients") leaving incarceration who usually have no funds or shelter. We rented 10 older residences and during 2022 averaged 550 residents in transitional housing, allowing them to sleep, have several sets of working clothes, shower and present themselves for work, all of which is necessary to achieve productive lives and not return to prison.
Thrift store operations
Beginning in late 2021, reap accepted responsibility to assist in addressing the needs of area homeless persons, as a new part of its overall program assisting marginalized persons. In july 2022, reap opened the max- well respite center, providing housing, meals, and case management for 75 previously unhoused persons. Reap completed the occupancy of the bill cross center on property purchased from lutheran services of Florida, which provides single room occupancy for 14 unhoused persons. In february 2022, reap opened camp one, a safe outdoor camping area for individuals previously living in an unpermitted campground. Reap continued operation of the lodges, an emergency shelter facility for women and children which opened in 2021. Beginning in early 2022, the city of Pensacola, using federally-provided covid-19 funds, provided funding to reap to run camp one, the max-well center, and continued operation of the lodges. These three facilities provided housing, meals, and case management to our area's homeless population. These programs are similar to the reap Re-Entry program which primarily works with clients recently released from state prisons. Together, reap programs serving returning citizens and area homeless provided more than 50,000 night stays and meals to this population during 2022. All of reap's programs are transition oriented, in that the programs are designed to help individuals transition from incarceration or homelessness to self-sufficiency and independence.
Other client needs: our clients arrive without money, and correspondingly, without medicine, hygiene items, food clothing, required identification or registrations for food stamps, veterans benefits, etc. Especially prior to our getting them into some type of paying employment, we are able to provide them with an initial supply of food, food vouchers, lists of food kitchens and time, several sets of clothing, boots, costs for various registrations and initiation of benefits programs. This all leads to the ability to work daily with proper hygiene and clothing. In 2022, over 550 arrived in our program following incarceration with those needs which we could provide.