When a person is sent to prison, he or she is defined by the act of crime. The NJSuccess site is dedicated to the idea that people leaving prison can shed the narrow framework they lived under and claim new projects and new opportunities - to remake their lives in freedom. Inspiration for this site came from former prisoners who saw the need and then worked to gather the information to build this resource. The PSHLC members in these photographs - Charles Holman, Elijah Muhammad and Michael Mackason - have done what so many ex-prisoners do when they get out: reach out to support those who are still incarcerated. The only difference is that, through the internet, their work is available to so many more people.

                                                                                                        Photography by Clarence Elie Rivera

We are grateful to those who have contributed to the Resources for Prisoners project: Barry Moore-for managing the outreach to agencies; Charles Holman and Elijah Muhammad for site evaluation and outreach; Michael Mackason for internet research and outreach, and to Ed Hughes, Roswell Perez and Kate Rosado for work on the database. A special thanks is also extended to Paul Shane at Rutgers University - Newark's Department of Social Work for helping develop the protype of the NewarkSuccess resource directory. The project is coordinated by Maggie Smith for the PSHLC and Jeff Mellow for the Prisoners and Their Families Project.