JOSHUA HOUSE BENEFITS THE COMMUNITY

Joshua House is a Christian based nonprofit “Semi-Therapeutic” transitional living facility, providing addictive disorders and life skills education in a supportive environment to individuals. While completing its mission, Joshua House benefits the community in several ways. First, Joshua House saves State and local taxpayer dollars. Second, Joshua House reinforces the importance of its program participants’ civic duties. Third, Joshua House rehabilitates its residents by encouraging them to become independent, responsible and productive members of society.

I. FINANCIALLY

Arizona taxpayers spend on average $21,588.00 dollars per year or $56.66 per day to incarcerate one inmate. Through community donations, grants, fundraising efforts, and resident service fees, Joshua House does not burden Arizona taxpayer funds. In fact, at only eighty per cent of our full capacity of fifty residents, Joshua House saves the State of Arizona approximately $460,591.00 annually. Fewer offenders returning to prison translate into lower crime rates and reduced law enforcement costs. With current State budget shortfalls, it makes sense to support the Joshua House initiative. Statistics prove that parolees who complete Christian based addictive disorder programs exhibited a sixty-seven percent decrease in recidivism.

Joshua House also provides living arrangements for general mental health and SMI individuals with services to include enough food for one daily meal, comfortable living accommodations, and a minimum of three semi-therapeutic activities per week. Our services relieve many mental health providers from referring their clients to local hospitals saving providers and the State approximately $800.00 per day per resident referred.

Homelessness continues to increase at a rate of two percent annually. This hidden population is also a financial burden to the taxpayer. As with parolees and addicts (that are often homeless also) by properly educating these individuals, both recidivism and homelessness can be decreased, saving taxpayer dollars, and making permanent improvements within our community.

II. CIVICALLY

Joshua House realizes that all citizens have a responsibility to the greater good of their communities. Our program is based on a modified semi-therapeutic community offering a structured environment in which residents and staff holds each resident accountable for their actions. Residents are expected to learn the importance of community by seeing how their behaviors affect those around them.

House meetings are held weekly to address achievements and/or infractions, problems and any community issues. Residents are taught the importance of structure, rules, and social order in the context of the Joshua House community and society at large. It is through our structured semi-therapeutic setting that residents will learn the value of social harmony and community belonging.

III. SOCIALLY

Joshua House educates residents to disassociate from past negative peer groups.

We understand the importance of a drug-free environment for success. Through our addictive disorders education and social reintegration program, we seek to break the cycle of addictive behavior. Residents are educated about the family and social ills accompanying drug addiction. Our transitional program also helps break the isolation brought on by antisocial behavior.

No longer will our residents be able to avoid looking at themselves and their behaviors, which led to addiction, incarceration and homelessness. We seek to confront self-defeating behavior and replace it with a "Can Do" attitude. Through indiviual and group counseling, Joshua House challenges its residents to reach their highest potential. What is more humanitarian than to help those who have committed to helping themselves? We all are aware how encouraging words, a positive environment and those who believe in you, can shift the balance from failure to success. With our experiential base of working in settings such as prisons, treatment programs, out-patient programs and with the dually-diagnosed client, we are committed to encouraging success to all those who seek it.

All that is needed is an oppotunity to help them re-integrate into the community as willing, successful participants.

Joshua House 24:15 Application Form