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Organization helps give people second chances
YOUNGSTOWN
Tinisha Murray believes in second chances and in helping people make those second chances successful.
It was through this belief in the good of people and second chances that Murray started a business that gives men and women a helping hand in re-entering society after battling drug addiction, incarceration and other obstacles.
The G.L.O. — Growing Lives One Day at a Time — Relapse Prevention Agency opened its doors to the community in 2011.
Before 2011, Murray had been teaching Bible classes on a volunteer basis at Bridge of Hope Church in Boardman. She noticed that many of those attending the classes were coming from the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley or dealing with issues such as drug addiction.
Murray has dealt with her own legal issues in the past — two misdemeanor drug arrests. She saw what the people coming to the class needed and wanted to help. She quickly became a “buffer” between the people in need and the services already in place in the community.
“When you come out and you face all of these problems, society really is not ready to deal with that,” Murray said. “There is a gap, and because of the things I have gone through, I was ready to stand in that gap.”
Murray began taking classes and soon was certified as a relapse-prevention specialist. She invested more than $12,000 into the G.L.O. program and became one of the first and youngest black females to bring a substance-abuse program to the Boardman area.
“I was very determined,” she said. “This program was based on all of the things I needed help with.”
There are three programs operated under the G.L.O. umbrella — an intense outpatient treatment program, a re-entry into society from prison and transitional housing program and a work-experience program. The programs encompass a wide variety of issues including life-skills coaching, fitness, parenting classes, job referrals, anger and stress management and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The prison re-entry program has classes at Cuyahoga and Mahoning county jails and assesses the inmates with a G.L.O. questionnaire to assist with their needs individually. Program representatives then serve as advocates for the inmates upon their release.
The Work Experience Program provides training for those who may be receiving some form of government assistance, but must provide service or training to receive those benefits.
“They [those in the work experience program] like G.L.O. because this is not just another place to go. They are being trained in administrative work,” she said.
Murray said all of the programs help take care of basic needs that many people don’t think about. Without meeting those basic needs, she said, those trying to rebuild their lives can be lost.
“Jobs and transportation are a big issue for most people re-entering society. Without those things, you cannot provide for the rest of the necessities. We try to provide the needed bus passes and help rebuild r sum s,” she said. “We train and develop people to serve and become leaders. We strive to improve the social fiber of the individual.”
Murray is convinced that helping those in the programs on an individual basis translates to helping that person’s family and ultimately the entire community.
“We help prevent relapse and try to teach people to deal with life’s problems without turning back to their old ways,” she added.