When he was 17 years old, John Robinson was senior class president, an honor student and captain of his football team. One night, he picked up a friend who then shot and killed someone while they were stopped at a red light. Although he wasn’t the shooter, Robinson was sentenced to 33 years in prison for his role in the crime, and he served 13. Afraid he’d end up among the 77 percent of prisoners re-arrested within five years of their release, Robinson asked Project COPE for help reintegrating into society. Thanks to the organization’s assistance with education, employment and housing, Robinson is now married with two children and owns a business. “When you have to fend for yourself, you tend to repeat your crime and bring harm to your community all over again,” he says. “We need to give ex-felons a second chance instead of casting them out.”
Project COPE recently changed its name to Concordance Academy of Leadership, and will greatly expand its services in the coming year. Its new 18-month program helps those leaving the prison system by offering services proven to reduce recidivism. Participants receive a personalized mix of cognitive therapy, education, substance abuse and mental health treatment, and housing and employment assistance. A network of individuals also provides emotional and social support. “We don’t think it’s enough just to give therapy and services,” says Danny Ludeman, the Academy’s CEO. “Like all of us, these individuals need people who care about them and accept them for who they are, not who they should be.”
Concordance Academy is working with the Concordance Institute for Advancing Social Justice at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. This first-of-its-kind public, private and academic partnership combines treatment, services and research to reduce the cycle of incarceration and have the greatest impact on reducing crime in the St. Louis area, Ludeman says. The Institute, led by Dr. Carrie Pettus-Davis, will monitor the Academy’s program for five years and compare its results against a control group receiving different services. “The goal is to show that we can reduce recidivism by one-third,” Ludeman says. “Then we can take our integrated, holistic program to other cities in Missouri, and eventually nationally.”
The first three years of the Academy’s work has already been funded through a mix of public and private donations. To finance a fourth year, the organization is holding its inaugural Gateway Gala Nov. 20 at The Ritz-Carlton. Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) will deliver a keynote speech, and White House correspondent Ann Compton will serve as emcee. “The second purpose of the gala is to raise visibility about the problem of mass incarceration,” Ludeman notes. “This is the third greatest social issue our nation faces, after poverty and disease.” One-third of Missouri’s homeless are exoffenders, Ludeman says, and children with an incarcerated parent have a 70 percent chance of ending up in prison, too. “What we’re trying to do is truly get at the root cause of the issue.”
The strategy worked for John Robinson, who owns Gateway Cremation and Funeral Services in downtown St. Louis. “Being an entrepreneur is challenging, but I’d rather have these challenges than the challenges of incarceration and unemployment,” he says. Robinson is also co-chair of Concordance Academy’s alumni board, helping fellow former prisoners find hope. “When you’re an ex-felon, you’re the lowest of the low in society,” he says. It takes a very special person to help an outcast. Everybody may not be incarcerated for their mistakes, but everybody makes them. And everybody deserves a second chance.”
[Concordance Academy of Leadership offers groundbreaking, holistic services to those returning to society from prison. The organization hosts its first annual Gateway Gala, 6 p.m., Nov. 20, at the Ritz-Carlton, featuring keynote speaker Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.). Tickets start at $250, or $1,000 for a
VIP reception with Gen. Powell. Table sponsorships start at $5,000. Pictured on the cover: Gala co-chairs Michelle Smith and Kerrin Kowach, board member John Robinson, CEO and president Danny Ludeman, gala co-chair Peggy Ritter. For more information, visit gatewaygala.org, concordanceacademy.com or call 314.444.1164.]
Pictured: John Robinson and Danny Ludeman
Photo: Tim Parker Photography
Cover Design by Jon Fogel | Cover photo by Tim Parker Photography
