It’s hard to believe that in 2027, RISE will celebrate 10 years of this work.

Time is complicated in the world of reentry. The journey home to reclaim freedom, safety, wellbeing, and dignity is such a lengthy chapter. Yet, when we step back, we recognize how swiftly the time has passed by.

We’ve known many of the folks from our In-Prison Program for nearly eight years now. It’s a profound joy to have built such strong relationships with them after all this time, yet heartbreaking to know those years were spent behind razor wire. For so long, the time before coming home felt distant.

Until now.

Many of them are finally on the brink of coming home.

Mondo graduated from one of our earliest cohorts at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. From the moment he graduated, he began paying it forward, stepping into a leadership role and facilitating RISE classes for others.

For seven years, Mondo has helped 175 men become RISE graduates, build their confidence, and prepare to return home long before his own release.

In less than two years, it’s Mondo’s turn. He will pass the baton to the next generation of RISE leadership and finally come home himself…just in time to celebrate 10 years with us.

As our team envisions RISE’s continued growth within the community, it’s not without hearing our staff call out countless names of graduates nearing release whom we can’t picture doing this work without…Mondo included. We picture Billy, LaToya, Chris, Landon, and so many others stepping into this community you’ve helped us build.

We can feel the change coming, imagining the moment when those we’ve walked beside for years finally come home to share their hearts, talents, and leadership with the world.

This is what coming home should look like. Hope. Belonging. Opportunity.

But for far too many, coming home today feels very different.

I’m writing to you because RISE faces unprecedented circumstances: more people are coming home to less support than ever before.

With the right support, when people return home after incarceration, entire communities benefit.

In April, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld LB 50, a major criminal justice reform bill for which RISE strongly advocated. As a result, nearly 1,800 people in Nebraska’s prisons are now eligible for parole sooner, and more than 300 individuals will become eligible for parole for the first time.

This means more parents can return home to care for their children, rebuild relationships, and restore family stability.

When individuals come home with access to safe housing, employment, and community support, they alleviate the strain of prison overcrowding, work, pay taxes, start businesses, and contribute to a safer Nebraska.

With billions in federal grants frozen across the country, the impact is being felt everywhere. Local resources are approaching depletion. The funding has become more competitive and uncertain than ever… with little relief in sight.

Coming home shouldn’t mean closed doors and no one to call.

This is what keeps me up at night and why RISE matters more than it ever has.

Today, I'm asking you to make your most generous gift to RISE where you can fill the gap between, “You’re free to go,” and “Welcome home.”

Your gift today helps people who have nowhere else to turn. You ensure people come home with hope.

Because of you, RISE provides:

Intensive programming in seven Nebraska prisons for the 870 graduates (and counting) who will come home sooner because of LB 50.
Case management services beginning one year before release to secure housing, employment, ID documents, transportation, mental-health and substance-use support, and family healing.
Youth and Family Programs that help families heal together and find connection when they need it most.
The RISE Business Academy, now 13 cohorts strong, where 52 thriving businesses have been launched and graduates can come home to something they’re proud of.
Policy and advocacy efforts that remove barriers to reentry…the very work that led to the passage of LB 20 restoring voting rights and LB 50 accelerating access to parole

This is what a community does to welcome people home.

It doesn’t have to be confetti and balloons, just someone holding the door open and saying, “You belong here.”

Together, we’re building a community where no one comes home alone. Where second chances are real. Where your neighbor’s success is your success.

Thank you for standing with RISE. Thank you for believing that everyone deserves the chance to come home and build something better, especially now, when the path forward has never been harder.

With deep gratitude and hope,

Jeremy Bouman
CEO, RISE

Coming Home

By RISE Academy

Coming Home

Breaking Cycles and Building Futures.