Starting Over After Prison

Tonight, we interviewed a man serving time for a drug charge. His wife and two children fell in to poverty when he became incarcerated. Now, the family struggles to make ends meet and lives in a converted garage. As we explain the details of the Open Table model, he stands up and walks around the table to hug us in tears… Watching this dad with his family makes it clear that while they lack many things, there is an abundance of love between them all. This inmate will join a re-entry Table at a church in South Phoenix that is ready to welcome him and his family. During the first few months of Table operation, Table meetings will need to be held in the prison for the inmate and at the church for the family until his release when the Table will meet united. Open Table’s collaboration with the correctional system seeks to halt recidivism by restoring families to the community. A second re-entry Table is forming now with plans for others to follow.