GoldStar Institute - About Us

Mission Statement

The mission of the GoldStar Institute is to provide a ‘bridge of opportunity’ for men and women who are making reentry to society. The GoldStar Institute in partnership with other service organizations provides information and opportunities for mentorship, housing, recovery, employment and education.

At the core of the GoldStar Fellowship is the essential belief ‘that each person has potential and is personally responsible for taking direct actions to improve their lives and become a positive contributor to their community'.

There are currently 650,000 men and women being released from our correctional institutions every year.
The rate of recidivism nationally is 48.5%.

The GoldStar Institute’s vision is to make a difference in the lives of men and women returning to our communities.

At the GoldStar Institute, we believe that by providing mentorship and working together with state, city and local government, as well as other community partners, we can make a difference. Most importantly, the men themselves must make the commitment with the GoldStar Institute.

Action Plan

Both the mentor and the new member, thus creating a mutual investment of time, commitment and sustainable goals, create the Action Plan.

The Action Plan will include, but not be limited to the following:

The Action Plan will have a timeline, be signed by the member, the mentor, the sponsor and be monitored for progress.

“We can do together – what I can not do by myself.”

Business Partnership

The GoldStar Institute is a win-win situation for every individual, mentor and business involved with the program.

Business owners care about the over all safety of Nebraska cities. As tax payers in the state of Nebraska, we can afford less crime and we do so by helping in reintegrating these men and women back into our community. With the help of mentoring, we as a city and state will greatly benefit.

GoldStar Institute Business Partner benefits include:

Mentorship

Each participant in the GoldStar Institute will be assigned a Mentor. In order for an individual to qualify as a mentor, an individual must meet the following criteria:

The mentor will begin working with an individual when they are within 30 to 90 days away from release from incarceration. The mentor will guide the individual through all application processes, assist in developing an Individual Action Plan and then continue working with the man for at least six months after release from incarceration. Mentors will be encouraged to work indefinitely with their assigned members, so long as it is beneficial to both parties. This could be a lifetime relationship.

The mentor is responsible for connecting the man with resources that will assist with housing, transportation, life support, recovery, employment, education and service. The mentor will be provided with a Services Binder and access to detailed information on the GoldStar web site.

GoldStar Institute Partners

The following companies have partnered with the GoldStar Institute for the betterment of our communitees:

Nebraska Workforce Development
Greater Omaha Community Action
United Way of America (UWA) and the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS)
Department of Correction Re-Entry Program
American Correctional Association
Better Business Bureau
Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Oxford House
Greater Omaha Community Action
Work Opportunities Recruitment Council