Rebuilding Lives Behind Bars: REBOOT's Mission with Inmates

When most people hear “inmate” or “prisoner,” certain assumptions and stigmas often rise up automatically. We imagine brokenness, danger, shame, or being irredeemable. But at REBOOT, we believe those assumptions are incomplete — and that transformation is possible, even inside prison walls.

Why serve inmates?

• Wounds don’t pause at prison walls. Trauma, betrayal, abuse, self-hatred, and regret travel with a person no matter where they live. Many inmates arrive with deep wounds, feeling isolated, unworthy, and disconnected from God, community, or purpose.
• Redemption is a biblical theme. Scripture is full of stories of restoration — Joseph redeemed after being sold by his brothers, David forgiven, and Paul transformed from persecutor to apostle. We believe no one is beyond God’s grace.
• Released doesn’t mean healed. Reentering society is fraught with challenges: stigma, lack of support systems, broken relationships, and internal questions of identity and worth. Equipping individuals while still incarcerated helps them reenter with tools, community, and hope rather than just survival mode.

So REBOOT brings trauma-informed courses, group work, courageous conversations, and spiritual care into jails and prisons where possible. We meet people where they are and walk alongside them as they begin to reconstruct identity, restore trust, and pursue wholeness.

Confronting stigma

Stigma is one of the biggest barriers to rehabilitation and community support. Here are a few of the lies society often tells about prisoners — and how REBOOT counters them:

At REBOOT, we try to replace stigma with empathy. We show up, listen, and let persons tell their stories. We create safe spaces where shame can be named and healing can begin.

Partnership with the H3 Network and Brick x Brick

One of our most meaningful partnerships is with the H3 Network (Hope Help Humor). Their reentry initiative, the Brick x Brick Conference, is a virtual reentry conference designed to support those transitioning from incarceration back into society. H3 Network

What Brick x Brick offers

• Keynote speakers & storytelling. Voices of lived experience, justice advocates, and leaders who translate hope into practical paths forward. H3 Network
• Breakout sessions on real needs. Topics include employment, entrepreneurship, financial management, probation/parole support, mental health, and relationship rebuilding. H3 Network
• Virtual networking & booths. Though online, the event includes virtual lobbies and booths to connect attendees with resources and organizations. H3 Network
• Affordable access. The conference is designed to be accessible, using registration fees to cover speaker honorariums and keeping participation costs as low as possible. H3 Network

By partnering with H3 and aligning with this conference, REBOOT can help connect incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals to critical support services, training, community, and hope beyond their immediate courses.

What this means for REBOOT participants

• Expanded resources. Through the conference and network, participants get exposure to jobs, mentors, legal help, mental health, and relational support—things that can make or break reentry success.
• Community beyond walls. Many men and women who go through REBOOT inside prison will transition back to communities that may not yet know REBOOT. The H3 connection offers support outside, helping them link into ongoing care and growth.
• Empowerment and credibility. When participants engage with a larger network and conference, they see themselves not as forgotten, but as valued contributors in the wider justice/healing conversation.
• Sustained transformation. REBOOT’s work doesn’t end as people are released. By integrating them into broader networks and resources, the healing they begin “inside” has a better chance of continuing “outside.”

How you can help

• Pray. For healing, for doors to open, for community to rally.
• Partner. Churches, nonprofits, community groups — we welcome collaboration to support reintegration.
• Sponsor or promote. The Brick x Brick Conference especially benefits from partners who can underwrite attendance, spread the word, or host viewing groups.
• See people, not labels. If you meet someone with a criminal record, don’t let stigma blind you. Ask their story. Extend kindness. Encourage them.

REBOOT’s vision is to walk hand in hand with those the world often writes off. Serving inmates is part of that mission: bringing justice, grace, and healing where it’s desperately needed. Our partnership with H3 and participation in the Brick x Brick Conference helps extend that mission — bridging inside to outside, stigma to empathy, brokenness to renewal.

If you’d like to learn more about how to support our prison ministry, host a REBOOT course inside a correctional facility, or attend / sponsor the Brick x Brick Conference please email us at info@rebootrecovery.com.  

Originally published on www.rebootrecovery.com on October 16, 2025