Causes: Religion, Roman Catholic

Mission: Dismas Ministry's mission is to address the spiritual needs of the incarcerated by providing free Catholic faith, scripture, and prayer resources to inmates nationwide. After an initial survey revealed both the lack of quality Catholic resources in prisons and the lack of a national organization to provide these materials free of charge, Dismas Ministry was founded. The ministry uses a restorative justice approach, knowing that an inmate's spiritual rehabilitation will have positive effects on others (victims, families, community). Our objectives are to increase inmates' knowledge about the Catholic faith to help them grow or to clear up misunderstandings; increase inmates' sense of hope to help them work toward spiritual rehabilitation; and increase inmates' sense of belonging to the full faith community, changing their attitude toward themselves and others. The expected impact is the spiritual growth of inmates that can lead to a more constructive experience of incarceration and a productive life back in society if released.

Results: 152,797 Bibles and 193,909 prayer books have been distributed to prisoners in over 1700 facilities nationwide since 2000.

Programs: Faith based outreach program to federal and state inmates distributing bibles and publications.

faith based outreach program to federal and state inmates distributing prayer books and materials.

women's project promoting awareness of materials available for women inmates.

faith based outreach program to federal and state inmates distributing faith study, bible study, and prayer study distributing faith study, bible study, and prayer study distributing faith study, bible study, and prayer study