Ride Home Program

Under the leadership of ARC Board Member Michael Romano, ARC collaborated with Stanford University’s Justice Advocacy Project to create the Ride Home Program. The Ride Home Program provides free, safe, and friendly transportation directly from the carceral facility to an approved transitional housing program that will address the individual’s specific needs and fulfill the requirements of their supervision. In the last year alone, our Ride Home Program has brought home more than 725 people upon release and has experienced a 700% increase in demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our experienced ARC reentry counselors and drivers are formerly incarcerated themselves, so they offer returning citizens an opportunity to spend time with a peer who’s been through a similar experience and a practical and realistic plan for reentry. We keep in touch with returning citizens for follow-up counseling and support in becoming ARC members. Our mission is to counsel returning citizens on how to approach and overcome obstacles ahead, share a first meal, buy fresh clothing and toiletries together, bring them to a safe home, and introduce them to a changed world.