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| Last updated on May 1, 2008 |
Mission Statement: Thresholds in Delaware County, Inc. is a non-profit organization which teaches decision-making skills to interested inmates in Delaware County prisons by developing and maintaining a volunteer corps. Through this program, Thresholds builds a constructive relationship between the prisons and the community.
Description:
New volunteers work one-on-one teaching inmates, or "clients" a six-step decision-making process. Through the use of a guide (workbook), the clients learn how to define their situation, set goals, evaluate numerous possibilities for reaching their goals, and how to make use of techniques to stay focused until their goals are achieved.
Volunteers meet once a week with a client for a period of 7 weeks. Each meeting lasts for one to two hours. During this time the teacher and client cover the six steps outlined in the Thresholds Guide. Further reinforcement of the material is provided during group sessions, which are also held once a week. The group sessions include discussion, videos and role playing. Upon completing the program, each client is awarded a certificate of achievement.
New volunteers are required to attend a 15-hour training session and are thoroughly trained to teach Thresholds' six-step decisional model. Training sessions are held 3-4 times per year in locations throughout Delaware County. Please contact the Thresholds office at 610-459-9384 to find out when the next training session will be held. Additionally, Thresholds has opportunities for committee and office volunteer work to support our teaching activities.
History:
Thresholds was developed by Milton "Mickey" Burglass while he was incarcerated in a Louisiana prison in the mid-1960s. While teaching literacy to his fellow inmates, Burglass observed that many inmates had great difficulty solving problems and making decisions. This inability affected all aspects of their lives and often led to arrest and incarceration. He also found that these inmates learn to read more quickly if they were taught decision-making skills. The acquired decisional skills allowed them to decide how to pronounce a word rather than being intimidated by guessing wrongly.
After Burglass' release, he attended Harvard University where, for his doctorate, he formalized his decision-making process into the highly successful program known as Thresholds. The six steps of the decisional model are:
- Define the Situation
- Set the Goal
- Develop the Possibilities
- Evaluate the Possibilities
- Make the Decision
- Implement the Decision
The steps enable our clients to avoid reacting to situations and empowers them to make conscious decisions about their lives.
Thresholds has been operating in the Delaware County Prison (George W. Hill Correctional Facility) for almost 30 years. In 1998 the program was expanded into the newly built State Correctional Institution at Chester. In the summer of 2002, we began working with young people at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center in Lima. Other Thresholds chapters exist in Chester and Lancaster counties, as well as in the State of Delaware. To volunteer in Chester County, email Dick Bergesen at bergesen@nni.com
Contact person: Connie Roggio, Program Manager, (phone), (email)
Address:
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P.O. Box 114
Thornton, PA 19373-0114 |
Web Site: http://www.thresholdsdelco.org
Directions:
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Our program operates in three prisons: the Delaware County Prison located on Cheyney Road in Thornton, the State Correctional Institution located at 500 East 4th Street in Chester, and the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center located on Route 352in Lima.. . . (more)
For maps or information, please see http://www.septa.com/ |
Miscellaneous Information
| Are court referrals welcomed? |
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Yes
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User Reflections
Post Your Own!
Overall Experience 
I Can Make a Difference!
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The people that I meet in prison are ordinary people in need of help to stay out of prison. They are very grateful to the Thresholds volunteers because they realize they are not forgotten. It is very rewarding to work one-on-one with them & see them change. Prison volunteering isn't for everyone but maybe for you!
posted by Fran Cook on May 20, 2005 |
Overall Experience
A feeling of "giving something back"
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Thresholds of Del. Co. works with inmates at the two prisons in Del. Co. by developing their decision making skills, their values and their self esteem. This is done through a corps of volunteers that have been trained in the necessary skills. I have been a volunteer/teacher for 5 years and have been rewarded many times over with a sense of really helping someone who really needs and appreciates it. As your "clients" develop through your influence and teaching you begin to feel that it is you who is being rewarded and that you have made a significant contribution.
posted by blmurph on May 16, 2001 |
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