As the oldest Boston-based provider of services solely dedicated to prisoners and ex-offenders, Span strives to make the greater Boston area a safer and stronger community. In collaboration with numerous community providers, Span accomplishes its mission of assisting those who are or have been in prison to achieve healthy, productive and meaningful lives by providing one-on-one, intensive support services to over 1200 men and women annually.

Description:
Population Served
Ninety-eight percent (98%) of Span’s clients have low or no income through the first six months of their release from prison; 74% are homeless or at risk of being homeless upon release. Nearly all Span clients have engaged in risky behavior for HIV, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and STDs. Twenty-six percent (26%) of clients test positive for HCV; 20% are HIV positive. Thirteen percent (13%) are infected with both viruses.

Scope of Services
Case managers develop an individualized service plan for each formerly incarcerated client, customized to support each individual to learn the skills and the tools needed to avoid returning to prison. Treatment plans can include the individual’s involvement in any combination of the following Span services: help accessing employment and job training, transitional housing and housing search, help accessing health care, HIV/AIDS counseling, health education, substance abuse counseling, food, clothing, and mentoring. Span actively cultivates an open and culturally diverse environment where all clients can feel welcomed and encouraged. Clients also participate in peer-facilitated support groups that address social skills development, reintegration issues and relapse prevention.

History:
In 1977, 30-year-old Lyn Levy spent most of her time working as a volunteer at Walpole State - one of the toughest prisons in Massachusetts and in the country. Ms. Levy worked to assist and support prisoners throughout their process of returning to society. In 1978, Ms. Levy founded Span, Inc. with enough funding to hire one employee.

Within five years, Span expanded in size to include five employees in a two-room office on Boylston Street. In those days staff spent most of the workweek behind the walls of three state prisons, providing inmates with individual counseling and reintegration support groups. Some ten years later, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts began to shut out most nonprofit agencies from operating programs within its correctional institutions. However, due to Span’s well-regarded reputation within the correctional community and the agency’s focus on re-entry, Span was able to persevere and continue serving the incarcerated before their release into the community. Since then Span has received program funding from various state and federal agencies, such as the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Today, Executive Director Lyn Levy continues to commit herself to re-entry and reintegration as she works alongside a staff that has grown to 45-plus employees. Once a fledgling agency that provided discharge planning to only one prison community, Span has now grown into an organization that operates on a $2.7 million budget and serves all state and county prisons in Massachusetts.

Contact person: Laurie Bloom, Associate Executive Director, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (617) 482-2717

Address:

105 Chauncy Street, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02111 (See a map)

Directions:

MBTA Directions From the Orange Line: Take the Orange Line to the Chinatown stop. Exit onto Essex Street. Walk approximately one block east on Essex St. Turn left on Chauncy St. 105 Chauncy Street will be a short distance away on. . . (more)   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Red Line: Downtown Crossing; Orange Line: Chinatown,   Walk distance (in minutes): 4   Nearest Bus Stop: Silver Line: Washington St. & Essex St., 4 minute walk For maps or information, please see http://www.mbta.com