Pamela Wray

As many know or have personally experienced, transitioning away from incarceration is a particularly challenging and disorienting process. Often times, individuals find themselves facing homelessness, difficulties with employment, addiction, mental illness, and so much more. Pamela Wray, through the creation of The Lighthouse for Recovery Ministries, believes in the power of individuals changing for the better, and she is determined to do whatever it takes to help others facing challenges.

Pamela Wray, who has received the Presidential Citizen’s Medal in 2013 for performing exemplary deeds of service, possesses an ongoing mission to open the door for recovery, restoration, and hope to the returning citizen and its family members which will empower, enrich, and promote positive change and strength in the fabric of our communities. Pamela, through her organization, assists to build new lives through service programs shaped by the particular needs of her clients. The service model is based on more than twenty five years of experience working with people with criminal records. Pamela has found that without a solid foundation in core skill areas, too many of these individuals resort to the self-destructive choices that result in crime and incarceration.

After going through the services that include workshops, educational seminars, family based services, housing services, health care services, substance and abuse services, and so much more, minds are changed from a greater education of what it means to be back in society. Uniquely, The Lighthouse for Recovery Ministries promotes public safety by holding offenders accountable for their actions and reducing the risk of future criminal behavior by working with each individual to formalize their transitional and community reintegration needs into a solid plan for their lives.

This program is designed to assist offenders in preparing for and accomplishing a successful return to the community. Operating statewide in Alabama, The Lighthouse for Recovery Ministries has developed liaisons with service providers in the community and is able to provide on-going assistance in locating and accessing resources responsive to the needs, including food, shelter, clothing, education, medical services, as well as emotional support and encouragement.

Amazingly, Pamela plans and conducts all workshops, classes, and special events. She secures and picks up donations and delivers them to the appropriate venues. She is insanely active in all of the special events and programs from wrapping Christmas gifts, baking goodies, and the repair and remodeling of the transitional houses to all marketing and management duties with the assistance of 140 volunteers, businesses, agencies, and corporations who help make Pamela’s vision come to life.

In 2014 alone, Pamela and her organization are working towards four new Transitional Housing Programs for men, four new Transitional Housing Programs for women, an At-Risk Youth Center to house over 200 teenagers, and a Family Transitional Housing Program to house 100 families with children.

Interested in reading more on Pamela and her organization? Read more here: http://www.thelighthouseforrecoveryministries.org/default.html or know someone who is doing amazing work like Pamela? Nominate them today for the Daily Point of Light Award.