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Former TRIO EOC Client Kendal Covington receives Hope Rises Award
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Each year hundreds of people are released from Arkansas prisons.
According to Arkansas Community Corrections, more than half will end up back in lockup within three years.
A women’s re-entry program based in Little Rock focuses on empowering them for their futures post lockup.
“I never thought I could even get to where I’m at, myself,” says Hope Rises graduate, Kendal Covington.
Three years ago, to the date, Kendal Covington was in a much different place.
“My self-worth was in the pits,” says Kendal.
She was being booked into prison– now, 36 months later, she has a full-time job and is back on her feet.
“I’ve made huge strides in rekindling my relationships with my family and my friends,” says Kendal.
She says Hope Rises, a re-entry program for women based in Little Rock, gave her a new outlook.
“Lives change in this house. People grow, women blossom,” says Kendall.
“I want them to leave here, not saying oh look what Hope Rises has done, but look what I’ve done for myself. They put in all the hard work,” says Hope Rises Executive Director Kim Roxburgh.
Kim Roxburgh is the executive director of Hope Rises. She says during the six-month program, there women learn empowerment, get jobs, receive help for addiction, and find a support system of sisters.
“This is a drop in the bucket. We need programs like this all over the state, we really do,” says Kim Roxburgh.
For the work Hope Rises does for the community, it’s the latest organization to receive the Difference Maker Award.
“On behalf of Rainwater, Holt, & Sexton, we want to congratulate Hope Rises for winning the Difference Maker Award and present you with this $1,000 check”
According to Hope Rises, more than 650 women are released from prison in Arkansas each year. This organization is here to keep them out and live healthy lives.
To learn more about Hope Rises, and see how you can help, visit their website.