ABOUT NEXT LEVEL EMPOWERMENT
The Next Level Empowerment Program Inc., a non-profit
organization founded in October 2022, aims to improve the experience and outcomes of
returning citizens in New Haven, and eventually across Connecticut. Currently, New
Haven is home to many agencies offering services to returning citizens, but these
agencies struggle to offer the breadth and quality of services needed to help vulnerable
individuals re-engage with life outside of prison.
Guided by individuals with lived experience of
incarceration, including Founder/President Ray Boyd, Next
Level aims to facilitate successful re-entry by providing
participants with access to resources, counseling, and a
network of supporters before, during, and after their
transition into the community.
NEXT LEVEL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS
Programming
In the long term, the Next Level Empowerment Program hopes to open a physical re-entry center offering case management services, career and life skills training, counseling, and housing support to returning citizens. As Next Level Empowerment establishes itself, we will begin our work by offer two programs: a Warmline providing support and referrals and a weekly support group.
The Model Inmate: Mind Over Matter: How I Became the Model Inmate
“The Model Inmate”, written by Next Level Empowerment founder Ra’sun Allah, captures the essence of prison life through the voice of someone who has lived it continuously through different eras, administrations, and decades. To be given virtual life at the age of seventeen and not succumb to the many ills that have affected so many other children in similar situations, is a testament to one's will of self preservation.
This story will have you pondering, reflecting, shaking your head, and at times laughing as the author puts a comical spin on a dire situation. His thoughts are well put together in this book, painting a vivid picture of a reality that some are currently experiencing, about to experience, and some who have already experienced and survived to tell about it. The author gives you an insider's view of the highs and lows of his life; a boy, a savage, a Man, reborn to the True & Living.