A Christian minister heads CCF. The Reverend Vivian Nixon once spent prison time for falsifying documents. She says the group helps people reclaim the goals they had for their lives before going to jail.

VIVIAN NIXON: “What was missing for me, and what I think was missing in the world, was an organization that tapped into what was left of people’s hopes and dreams, that said it is okay for you to want to be something. You don’t have to just accept any job, you know, at a fast-food restaurant or cleaning up a hotel, or cleaning up the streets of New York City. You can still have desires and goals, and we are going to help you meet those desires and goals.”

The group holds meetings for the about two hundred seventy people who take part. There are talks about subjects like finance and developing a career, and there is a social hour.

Selina Fulford spoke to a recent meeting. Ms. Fulford has earned a master’s degree and is working on her second. She is now an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle.

Vivian Nixon says that society in general is happiest when the women do not go back to jail. But she says her greatest hope is that CCF’s members are setting high goals for themselves and their children.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Carolyn Weaver. I’m Bob Doughty.