Empowering Second Chances for a Brighter Future

Founder Thomas Younk noticed while he was an inmate in the Florida Department of Corrections that people would end their sentence and leave the prison only to return within a matter of months.   Upon inquiring as to why they were back in prison, the men related problems with employment and housing causing them to revert to criminal behavior to survive.  Hence, the plan to help people newly released from prison with housing and employment was hatched and began in 2013.  

      But, as Tom helped men and women re-enter society, he decided that mentors who previously made a successful transition from inmate to societal contributor are needed.   In addition, he noticed that ex-convicts who have a strong faith walk do better in their transition back to society.

      A faith walk is defined as recognizing that there is a greater power than oneself.  Once an ex-con realizes that he himself is not God, then he is on his way to living a life where he is societally minded, not selfish.

We provide newly released men and women with a place to live, assistance in finding a job, and a mentor to help them re-integrate into society.   Clients spend about six months with us until they are on their feet.  We are a transition program.  

      The mentors have the task of assisting the newly released with understanding current technology, learning and implementing ethical business techniques, dealing with society, and undertaking a faith-filled walk.

      Research shows 77% of newly released ex-cons go back to prison within five years unless they have a faith walk.   With our emphasis on faith walking, the 2300+ participants in our program have less than 1% recidivism (only seven people have returned to prison).

      Celebration Recovery (a faith-based recovery program for addicts) regularly has our members present their testimonies to the audiences.    Local churches have had our members present their testimonies to show that God is still working miracles in people’s lives.  Feel free to contact us if you wish for us to speak at your event

     Society benefits from our efforts because we help ex-offenders change their lives.   They are not receiving this type of assistance-to-change inside the prisons.   We are helping them live new productive lives.   Society is safer because of our efforts.   Crime is reduced.   Lives are no longer in danger.   We help change a person from a tax dependent user to a tax paying citizen.

As a side note regarding our name, Tom decided in 2013 to be very upfront and transparent in all our doings to assist the formerly incarcerated.  He wanted society to notice how ex-cons can become functioning contributing members, as opposed to hiding someone’s history behind an opaque program name.  Hence, the name Cons Helping Cons.

     Unfortunately, we have discovered that some people do judge a book by its cover.  People would not want to hear our testimony because of us calling ourselves ex-cons.  Hence, we changed our name to Citizens Helping Citizens, which is technically and legally more correct because once someone leaves incarceration, they are automatically a citizen again.  We are helping those re-entering citizens become tax-paying responsible members of society.