One year of incredible work and ten years of gratitude!

As 2025 comes to a close, we proudly celebrate 10 years of growth, resilience, and service to our community. At Inside Out Reentry Community, our commitment to walking alongside individuals returning from incarceration has never been stronger.

With your encouragement and support, we achieved these 10 highlights in 2025:

Held our third annual Art from the Inside Out art show
Celebrated our 2-year anniversary of the reentry house
Facilitated two 6-week sessions of our new Acceptance Commitment Training (ACT) group
Hosted a reentry simulation with the Johnson County attorney’s office
Held the Money Moves financial literacy program
Hosted 7 Social Events for our members, including Game Nights
Increased Coffee and Connections recovery meetings attendance
Hosted a restorative justice circle training for staff and volunteers
Promoted advocacy through events, presentations and community boards, and committees
Served close to 300 formerly incarcerated individuals residing in Johnson County

Please contribute today to help us continue our work for the next ten years!

Donate Today!

The Healing Properties of the Creative Collective

Focusing On Skill-Building: ACT Group

Inside Out held its 2nd session of its 6-week ACT group thanks to incredible volunteers. This group is focused on skill-building to cope with stressors, aid in emotional regulation, and build awareness to reach goals. 100% of those who completed the group said they are better able to cope with stressors.

“I am better able to take a step back and think through my difficult thoughts and feeling. I notice when things start to stress me out and have found ways to decrease that stress.” -session attendee

Sharing Our Work Statewide!

In October, Julia and Michelle attended the statewide prison reentry meeting in Des Moines! Michelle led a discussion on how to start a transitional reentry house and they both attended great breakout sessions to learn from other reentry providers in the state.

Trivia Night Wrap Up

Our 3rd annual Trivia Night was beyond a success and sold out again! Our huge gratitude to everyone who attended, donated and sponsored the event. The silent auction was highlighted by the beautiful art of an incarcerated individual who donated two pieces for Inside Out’s mission. Many laughs were had as Neil and Richard had their live pie auction competition! Richard came out victorious however Neil is gearing up for next year. The night ended in a tie and an impromptu trivia face off happened. Our volunteers baked enough to feed 100’s so our members at the resource center enjoyed the remaining treats! This keeps us moving forward in our mission with the support of the community.