Honoring Malik Aziz.

WHEREAS, Somewhere in his twenties, Malik Aziz went to jail. While he was there, he kept his eyes and ears open, learned all he could, and came out a changed man. He knew two things: He didn’t ever want to go back, and he wanted to help others avoid the pitfalls of recidivism. Thus, in 1995, did he organize and become the founder of the Ex-Offenders Association of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, When Mr. Aziz founded the organization in 1995, it had seven members. Today, its membership has increased one hundred fold, to seven hundred. These men and women work together to address the needs of those about to be released from incarceration. They follow up after release and continue to monitor ex-offenders in order to ease their re-entry into society and to help them with the myriad of problems, issues and roadblocks they may encounter; and

WHEREAS, Today, the Ex-Offenders Association of Pennsylvania has grown enormously, not only in size, but also in programs offered, issues addressed, outreach and support services. Since more than sixty percent of all inmates released from state prison are re-arrested, and since the Association seeks to break that cycle, we do well to recognize and applaud their tireless efforts; and

WHEREAS, Among the many programs offered by the Ex-Offenders Association are referrals for drug and alcohol abuse, housing, employment and health services; political action advocacy, support in community centers as well as religious institutions, a twelve week intense mentoring program right after release and twenty-four hour emergency counseling; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend all the members of the Ex-Offenders Association of Pennsylvania. We recognize the importance of the Association’s work in our City, and we thank the members for their commitment to this life-changing mission.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Malik Aziz, Founder and President of the Ex-Offenders Association of Pennsylvania, as evidence of the sincere respect and deep admiration of this legislative body.

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