The Well Of Lexington Inc

Programs: A community outreach program was begun while the organization is in the process of raising sufficient funds to open its residential program. Two board members began working with women in the detention center's reentry management program on a weekly basis in february 2014. The well is considered one of the reentry managment program classes. The reentry program will be one resource for referrals of women for the well. The reentry management group women number between ten and fifteen. It is a transient population of low level, nonviolent offenders who are either serving time on a misdemeanor or probation violation, awaiting sentencing, or have been sentenced and are waiting for transfer to a state or federal correctional facility. An estimated 95% of them are drug addicts. The well representatives discuss various topics with the inmates including addiction and recovery issues, relapse and post-release planning, women's health concerns, health care resources, health insurance and the state exchange, prevention and wellnes services for women under the aca, sex trafficking/ prostitution, interpersonal relationships and personal responsibility, family law, money managment, personal boundaries, etc. An attorney and nurse have donated their time and resources so that no funds from the well have been required.

well members have organized various ongoing activities as part of reentry managment program classes. Because there is no exercise program at the detention center, yoga classes taught by a volunteer certified yoga instructor have been organized and are ongoing. Two book clubs have been conducted by a noted writer. Well members are currently working on developing a choral program. Hundreds of books have been collected by well members and donated to the detention center library. All resources and volunteer time has been donated and no well funds have been required.

members of the well board are working to develop relationships with key community partners who will be a resource for referrals of women to the program, and more importantly, provide services the residents will require. Community groups include greenhouse 17 (comestic violence shleter for 17 county area) who invited the well to participate in a national grant application to provide vocational services to trafficking victims; kentucky rescue and restore which works with trafficking victims, bluegrass rape crisis center; the urban county council which contributed $775 to the well as a grant from their community development fund, the mayor's office on homelessness, the kentucky task force on human trafficking, the kentucky association of sexual assault prevention organizations, jubilee jobs, the refuge for women (southland christian), and the detention center. A working relationship with magdalene thistle farms has been developed and the executive director of that organization has provided extensive consultation on best practices for the residential program and all of the internal forms, documents, handbooks, resident screening applications, employee manual and budget information.