FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 9, 2014

CONTACT: Peter Van Delft
(617) 704-6682

SHERIFF TOMPKINS ADDRESSES RECIDIVISM, PREVENTION AT MEETING OF THE BLACK MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins stands before members of the Black Ministerial Alliance during their monthly meeting.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins recently visited the monthly meeting of the Black Ministerial Alliance (BMA) at the Charles Street AME Church in Dorchester.

The Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston (BMA), established in the early 1960s, is an alliance of over 80 faith–based and community–based organizations with a 40–plus year history of serving the Black community in Boston. The BMA’s mission is to provide spiritual nurture for clergy, and advocacy and program services for the larger Black community. As part of its mission, the BMA demonstrates its ability to create positive change in the Boston area.

Sharing the agenda with presenters from the Metropolitan Housing Partnership and MassHousing along with members of the BMA and District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson, Sheriff Tompkins spoke about some of the programming offered by the Department that has been designed to reduce recidivism and also about his efforts around prevention.

“Our mission is the care, custody and control of inmates and detainees,” said Sheriff Tompkins. “But, it is my belief that we need to provide the kind of programming that will allow people to leave our facilities better than when they came in. We have 82 programs that we offer to the men and women who are with us to help us meet that goal, and we provide addiction recovery services, mental health services and – upon reentry – job placement services. But, we need to work collaboratively with the community to have the greatest impact. If you have people or know people who are with us, tell them to take our programs. They’ll be better for it and the community that they return to will be as well.”

For more information about the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, visit: www.scsdma.org.

To learn more about the Black Ministerial Alliance, visit: www.bmaboston.org.

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