Lowell Police WebNews

The Greater Lowell Ex-Offender Reentry Partnership (GLERP) will be hosting a Reentry Community Forum on Friday, September 21, 2012 from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. at the Middlesex Community College café, located at 33 Kearney Square in Lowell.

The GLERP was co-founded in 2010 by the Lowell Police Department and the Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board (GLWIB). The GLERP is a partnership between local and regional organizations who are working together to bridge resources for ex-offenders reentering the community. The goal of the Partnership is to provide ex-offenders with opportunities for success in an effort to reduce recidivism. The Forum is designed for social service agencies, as well as ex-offenders and their families. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., there will be several speakers discussing various reentry topics. There will be speakers from the LPD, Billerica House of Corrections, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the GLWIB and the United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) at the Forum. These speakers will cover a wide-range of topics, including what each of the agencies is doing to assist ex-offenders in the reentry process.

During the final hour (12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) of the Forum there will be a Resource Fair. Members of the Partnership, such as Lowell House and the Lowell Transitional Living Center, will host tables that will highlight the services they have available for ex-offenders. The members of the GLERP are hopeful that this Forum will increase awareness to the free services that are available to ex-offenders which will assist them to successfully reenter the community and thrive after their incarceration.