Most reentry programs begin when a person walks out of prison.

Jackie's House begins twenty-four weeks before that moment - because the work of coming home cannot start at the gate. It starts inside the walls , with identity, with healing, and with a clear path forward before release day arrives.

From inside the prison walls to employed in the community

STAGE 1 - PHASE 1 OF THE CURRICULUM

What We Do

STAGE 1- THE FOUNDATION

Weeks 1 through 6 - Led by Dr. Timothy Massaquoi, LPC, PhD

PEACE IN MIND, LLC

Before a single skill is taught, the internal work begins.

Dr. Timothy Massaquoi - a Licensed Professional Counselor with a PhD, and a retired San Francisco 49ers player - (who also works with other retired professional sports players helping them to recreate their lives, to address their cognitive dissonance now that they no longer play professional sports) leads the first six weeks of the curriculum. He brings the same discipline that defined his NFL career into the therapy room, and the same belief that transformation is possible for anyone willing to do the work.

STAGE 2 - PHASE 2 OF THE CURRICULUM

STAGE 2 - THE BUILD

Weeks 7 through 16

With the foundation in place, participants build the practical skills the world outside requires.

Soft Skills and Professional Communication - The unwritten rules of professional environments, job interviews, and workplace relationships. Eye contact. Listening. Email. Navigating conflict. showing up consistently.

Technology and Digital Literacy - The world changed dramatically during long sentences. Smartphones, online job applications, digital banking, and basic computer skills are no longer optional. This stage closes that gap.

Physical Health and Wellness - Aging returning citizens often leave facilities with chronic conditions and limited healthcare knowledge. This stage addresses nutrition, preventative care, health insurance navigation, and the relationship between physical health and mental resilience.

STAGE 3 - VR EXPLORATION AND CERTIFICATION

STAGE 3 - THE LAUNCH

Weeks 17 through 24

This is where transformation becomes a career.

Before committing to a certification, every participant explores career through virtual reality - experiencing dozens of financially lucrative professional fields firsthand before making a choice. For people who have had every decision made for them for decades, this moment matters. They are not assigned a career. They choose one.

After exploring, each participant selects ONE certification to earn inside the facility before release:

Home Health Aide (HHA) - Personal care and basic health services for aging and disabled individuals. Direct employment through So Life Gave You Lemons, LLC at the personal care home.

Environmental Maintenance - Building maintenance, janitorial services, and facilities management. Industries that hire immediately and do not bar people with criminal records.

ServSafe Food Safety - A nationally recognized food safety credential that opens employment in any food service environment, regardless of criminal history.

Choosing one certification means participants can begin working in their chosen field on release day - while attending advanced training simultaneously. Work and school at the same time. Income from day one.

STAGE 4 - THE BRIDGE

Into Professional Training Partners

Upon release, Jackie's House connects graduates directly to establish professional training partners where they complete their certification at the advanced level - with the foundational work already done inside.

Current and prospective training partners included OIC Philadelphia, Philabundance, and the Laborers Union (LiUNA). Jackie's House pays for training slots through grants specifically designated for this purpose.

Graduates do not have to find their own way. The bridge is built before they cross it.

STAGE 5 EMPLOYMENT

STAGE 5 - EMPLOYED FROM DAY ONE

Every Jackie's House graduate has a job waiting on release day.

ServeSafe - certified graduates operate mobile food carts across Philadelphia through So Life Gave You Lemons, LLC - a Black woman owned social enterprise beginning at 51st and Woodland and expanding to other Philadelphia locations. HHA certified graduates enter healthcare through So Life Gave You Lemons, LLC and local employer partnerships. Environmental Maintenance graduates enter building services through contracts owned by So Life Gave You Lemons, LLC. Various career paths and certifications added throughout the year as new contracts become available that meet the skill set of Jackie's House participants.

Ongoing clinical support continues through a specialized mental health group led by Dr. Massaquoi's group Peace in Mind, llc. Graduates also become community mentors - returning to Philadelphia neighborhoods as living proof that transformation is possible.

Jackie's House is not doing this alone. We have clinical partners, employer partners, training partners, and government relationships behind this work. We are building the infrastructure. The community is building it with us.

THE SISTERHOOD - HOME SECURED

THE SISTERHOOD - HOME SECURED ACCEPTING RESIDENTS NOVEMBER 1, 2026

The home for The Sisterhood has been secured at 1600 W. Diamond Street in Philadelphia.

LaRica Grant lives in and operates this home personally as a certified non medical assisted living administrator, live-in caregiver, cook, and direct care worker. Three private rooms are ready for women veterans - one wheelchair accessible with a private en-suite bathroom and dedicated accessible parking.

Funds raised through the Jackie's House fundraiser campaign - Before the Doors Open, Help Us Build the Foundation on Solid Ground - are being used to furnish the home and create a warm, comfortable, home - like environment worthy of the women veterans who will live there. This is not an institution. This is a home.

If you would like to contribute specifically to furnishing The Sisterhood, donate at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-change-lives-and-to-prevent-homelessness or send a check payable to Jackie's House - 1600 W. Diamond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121

To refer a woman veteran contact grantsemployment@gmail.com or (267) 348-5312

These six weeks address three things

Identity - Who are you beyond your case number, your sentence, and your worst decision? This is the question every participant must answer before anything else can take root.

Paradigm Shift - Dr. Massaquoi addresses the cognitive dissonance that every person in this program will face. The tension between who the system said you were and who you are becoming. We do not paper over that tension. We use it.

Healing and Trauma - Decades of incarceration leave marks that job training cannot reach. This phase creates the space for participants to acknowledge what they have carried - without judgement, and without pressure to perform wellness before it is real.

STAGE 2 - PHASE 2 OF THE CURRICULUM