Project Return of Peoria on Web

Now on the website of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peoria is information on the Mission to Prisons we began (with the collaboration of our nearby sister congregations) last year and its biggest ministry so far, Project Return of Peoria.

In partnership with Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), Karen Wong, AIM, is a part-time chaplain at the Pekin Women's Federal Work Camp. Her ministry there includes leading classes on "Boundaries" and "Changes That Heal," and one-on-one spiritual counseling.

Project Return of Peoria helps incarcerated mothers reintegrate into the Peoria community by matching each returning mother with a team of trained and supported volunteers for one year. We also educate the public about the barriers these women face as they seek to make a successful re-entry into the community.

Project Return currently has teams, groups of 3-5 men and woman from several churches in the Peoria area, working with three mothers who have returned from prison. A fourth team is presently being formed for another woman who has just been released.