Restorations Ministries, Inc.
Managing Educational & Training Programs for Returning Citizens
History of RMI - "Created on Purpose . . . With Purpose . . . and For Purpose"
Robin M. Waley, Founder and CEO of Restorations Ministries, Inc., began the long journey toward reentry servicing in 1992. Traveling the circuit of halfway houses and transitional facilities in the District of Columbia, Ms. Waley mentored and counseled many newly released female offenders. In 1997, she began to develop a program concept for reentry servicing. However, feeling a need to fully understand the issues surrounding reentrants, particularly repeated offenders, she resigned from her corporate accounting position with a prominent corporation and subsequently accepted a position with the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, Maryland's only state prison for women. There she began to understand the disease of addiction and its hold on those who suffered from it. It was there that she observed trauma left untreated in the lives of survivors of childhood sexual-, physical abuse, and neglect. It was there that she witnessed individuals with undiagnosed mental disorders. And consequently, it was there that she surveyed the same familiar faces trapped in a revolving cycle in a system with unmet needs.
From the observations that the Lord showed her, she continued to write the program concept for Restorations Ministries. God gave a visual example of the impending restoring process in that of an old dilapidated, vacant house. The decayed and rundown structure, in its present condition, had lost its beauty, usefulness, and had no benefit to the community. In fact, it detracted from the neighborhood's congenial ambiance and threatened the economic value of the other homes. Even so, it was designed by its builder to be used, to be lived-in, to bring enjoyment. It was still a house . . . it had simply lost its purpose! If one were to peer with scrutiny, the original magnificence of that house was still visible. The house simply needed a plan for restoration; a plan that would assemble the pieces, repair the breaches, and bring it back to its original and intended glory. However, it would take time and a lovingly tedious commitment.
Such it is for our returning citizens. Without the assistance to obtain sustainable jobs, and removal of barriers hindering the attainment of those jobs, such as, lack of training and education, reentrants remain more a burden than a benefit to society. Without addressing the inward issues, such as, mental and emotional instability, cognitive deficiencies, and addictive tendencies, even an appearance of success is a facade. It doesn't last. The individual becomes unable to retain employment and reverts back to the familiar, threatening the security of the community. Restoration must come from the inside out!
Our mandate is to help individuals find their life’s purpose. In fulfilling that mandate, we adhere to the belief that man was created on purpose . . . with purpose . . . and for purpose. Without a purpose for living life is rendered useless. Scrutiny of Jesus’ statement in John 6:12, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost” (KJV) yields an eternal truth that lies with “original purpose”. In dissecting the verse in its original Greek, we uncover a revealing principle:
Gather (to assemble; lead together); Fragments (broken); Remain (to cause to super-abound or excel); Nothing (one man; any man); Lost (to destroy utterly; to perish; render useless; ruin)
We can make the following application . . .
[Assemble the broken pieces (of life) so that man (or woman) can excel and super-abound and that (no life) is destroyed, rendered useless, or ruined]
Though the context of the text is placed on meeting the physical need of hunger, Jesus saw the greater need and used the incident to teach a principle. The food was used for its original purpose, to satisfy hunger. However, the would-be-wasted leftover fragments still had the same mandate of purpose, to satisfy hunger. So it is with man. We each have the responsibility to fulfill the purpose for which God has created us. Purpose is the reason for existence. It is the reason for which we have been made. Our search for meaning is an innate motivation guiding our life. We were created on purpose, with purpose, and for purpose. Without purpose, we walk aimlessly through life.
There are five benefits of living a life of purpose: [1]
- Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.
- Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. It defines what you do and don't do.
- Knowing your purpose focuses your life. It concentrates your effort and energy on what is important.
- Knowing your purpose motivates your life. It produces passion.
- Knowing purpose prepares you for eternity. What matters most in your life is what God will say about it.
The knowledge of personal purpose is essential to successful reentry. The focus of this program is to restore individuals to a successful life, an abundant life, a purpose-driven life. The program components are explained more thoroughly in the acronym R.E.S.T.O.R.E.: Recovery, Education, Spirituality, Therapy, Oversight, Relationship Building, and Employment Preparation. These components are thoroughly explained on the "Program Services" page of this website.
[1] Warren, Rick, 2002, “The Purpose Driven Life”