Helping individuals successfully return to the community after incarceration in prison or jail is the mission of Circles of Support.* Through weekly meetings or individual contacts, volunteers from all walks of life meet with men and women who have been incarcerated to provide support and help to them in dealing with everyday challenges they face in returning to the community. The meetings provide a positive, non-judgmental environment which focusses on individual strengths and the future.
Information about community resources is provided by the participants and volunteers. Discussions about challenges focus on problem-solving and helping individuals explore effective options that might work for them. Participation is voluntary and there is no cost. Success is celebrated.
A variety of meeting times and places are available in Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, and Neenah-Menasha. Participants describe the groups as a “caring family environment,” a place to get useful community resource information, and a non-judgmental, trusting and respectful setting that gives them hope.
Anyone interested in being involved as a participant or volunteer can connect by calling (920) 840-2918 or emailing circlescanhelp@gmail.com. A volunteer will contact you personally to answer any questions.
*ESTHER is the fiscal sponsor of Circles of Support.
This powerful film is about homelessness all across America, its criminalization and the devastating impacts of the loss of affordable housing. Mass homelessness in the United States didn’t always exist, so how did we get to where we are today?
ESTHER’s Transformational Justice Task Force organized an educational event and public tour bringing an exact replica of a Solitary Confinement Cell to Appleton on May 11 and 12, 2023. The replica was designed and built by Talib Akbar, a formerly incarcerated man, who has brought it to communnities around the state. This event was meant to increase awareness of the harm of solitary confinement in Wisconsin prisons.
