Seventy times Seven MINISTIRIES

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A New, Re-entry Ministry is Forming in Massachusetts:
We have opened a new office in New Bedford, Massachusetts where we are a part of a new Strategic Alliance Partnership capable of providing all of the services needed by our clients to reenter Society successfully. Contact Mannie Lopez for more information at: 571-309-4082 or email him at mannie70x7@yahoo.com.

Our Strategy is Unique:

It starts with our relationships with the Prison's Reentry team, Prison Chaplains on the inside and simultaneously with City/County/State and Federal Agencies, Community/Faith Based entities, and our devoted Volunteers on the outside. We rely on these partners to introduce Seventy times Seven MINISTRIES to potential Clients. Also, having seen first hand how debilitating it is to give an ex-felon a resume and lead him/her out into a hostile marketplace, we do the work to create the necessary relationships with business owners so that there are jobs & housing waiting for our Clients, before they are released. This Comprehensive Services Business Model provides our clients the best opportunity for successful Reentry, while enabling the returnee to become a valuable asset to safer communities, and their own families.

Where We Are :

In 2008 we were granted our 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status with a determination letter from the IRS. We are currently seeking funding from the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the U.S. Department of Labor, and from City/County/State Agencies. In addition, we are preparing to seek funding from National Foundations/Private and Individual Donors, many of whom have consistently provided Grants for Reentry programs over the last five (5) years.

Contact Us

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We are located in Alexandria, VA, and New Bedford, MA.
Contact Ed Elliott at 703-635-4263 or Mannie Lopez at 703-329-2990
Please feel free to call if you are at all interested in this Ministry.

Our Staff

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The leaders of our Faith/Community Based entity are :

Ed Elliott, our Executive Director, began as a weekly volunteer at a jail teaching and preaching the Bible in 2002. It was in the crucible of befriending a dozen or more in their transtions that Seventy times Seven MINISTRIES was born. Ed has been in the Information Technology field for 20+ years, but when funding permits, he will transition to full-time service to this Ministry.

Mannie Lopez, is our Chief Communications Officer, Lead Mentor, and works on Funding & Partner Development. He has spent his professional life as a Consultant and Advocate for Women/Minority-owned For-Profit and Non-Profit entities.

We are located in Alexandria, VA, and New Bedford, MA.
Contact Mannie Lopez at 703-329-2990 or mannie70x7@yahoo.com

Coming Alongside The Men

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Each man & woman we serve will be well-connected to all of the Services they need to assure Reentry success. Where there are no parole or probation restrictions, we attempt to establish groups of former inmates within churches, who can support each other and model successful transition. Once we identify an inmate for our programs, we engage a Team of professionals to determine the specific needs of that individual. Career Development, Housing, Anger Management, Family Counseling, Substance Abuse Counseling, and the other 20 to 30 customized services for each Client is provided by a member of our Strategic Alliance. Each Volunteer is teamed with our Mentors to assure each Client has 24/7 support for them and their families.

We manage short-term funds for things like prescription drugs, work tools & clothing, and public transportation. We are also serving as advocates to help them get identification documents & driver's licenses.

We are asking the Faith-Based Community to survey their congregations for men & women able toVolunteer and/or employ our Clients and we're establishing alliances with businesses willing to hire former inmates, thus jobs would be waiting for them, rather than tossing men/women with felonies, resume-in-hand, into a hostile marketplace.

We mediate the relationships between the businesses and our members, acting as an advocate for them. We insist that the men & women establish good work habits, with sincere threats to remove them from our program, while persuading employers to exercise patience with men & women who may not yet have established good work habits and have problems with anger and selfishness.

Who We Are

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Seventy times Seven MINISTRIES began inside the Alexandria, VA jail. While coming alongside men during their shocking transitions back into the Church, family, and Society. One of our ministry's founders saw the great need and the lack of resources available for helping men & women during that transition. Sadly, the very families and social services which you think would strengthen the men & women, often contribute to a disheartening return to drugs, crime, and eventually back into jail.

While seeking to meet their short-term material needs, as well as their long term success, we primarily seek to be advocates for these men & women. Currently, our efforts are concentrated toward establishing working relationships with our other Strategic Alliance Partners in a strong Faith/Community Based Comprehensive Services Business Model delivering up to 30 services to our Clients in the DC Metro area and New Bedford/Bristol County, Massachusetts area.

We are also busy developing mentor training materials for our devoted Service Providers aka Volunteers. We ally with churches, , and teaching teams and community organizations going into DC & Massachusetts-area jails, thereby beginning the mentoring relationships that continue upon release from the jail.