While in prison, inmates are provided a bed, meals, a job, rehab, education, counseling, a church, a permanent address, and a lot of constant noise. When they parole they actually have nothing, especially after decades of incarceration. They have no money, no job, no references, no credit, no church family, no apartment of their own, no car, no phone, no good friends, no stable address, no family in many cases, no counseling, no established medical Dr. They suffer from guilt and shame and find it hard to forgive themselves for what they have done to others and to themselves. They do not want to return to their old way of life. With State run transition homes there is no telling who you are housed with. They are afraid of society. They are unsure if they should tell people their story. They are anxious with too many choices and too many decisions to make. Riding in a car is scary because they are not used to speed. All is a sensory overload. Parolees in the latter half of life have to completely start over. In addition, people on the outside of prison walls are afraid of prison parolees and most of the time, want nothing to do with them. How would you feel if an ex-con moved into your neighborhood or came to your church? That is why BOH was established. We want to hold their hand through the process. We have had years and years of experience with inmates to the point we can love them. We want them to succeed outside of prison, and you can help us to do that. To make a gift please go to bladeofhope.org/donate, or mail your donations to Blade of Hope, P.O. Box 4, Applegate, CA 95703.