What is Craine House?

Giving Hope and Serving Justice
The John P. Craine House (Craine House) is a residential work-release program for women with pre-school age children serving a court ordered sentence for a non-violent crime.
Our Mission Includes
Craine House accepts women with young children serving their court-ordered sentences for non-violent felonies into its residential, work-release program.  It is dedicated to empowering these women to transition back into the community with greater self-esteem, better parenting,  job and life skills and better able to support their families, thus breaking the cycle of negative behavior at  a cost and recidivism rate much less than traditional incarceration programs.
Our Vision Statement

• Mentor and educate these women and families to break the cycle of destructive behaviors with treatment and ways to eliminate a negative life situations, thus encouraging these women and their families to live in a safe and structured environment.
• Offer compassion and concern as these women begin their new life with their children away from the confines of traditional incarceration programs.

MORE…The overwhelming success of Craine House has prompted judges and correction agencies to encourage Craine House to expand in order to accept more families and provide more programs.  Craine House is eager to move into a new, larger facility with room for more moms and kids – we encourage your questions and appreciate your contributions toward the growth of Craine House. Thank you!

This is Craine House… right here in Indianapolis!  It looks just like any other house in the neighborhood.  It has bedrooms and a dining room, play room and a swing set in the yard.  Plus there are rooms for the mothers to meet, study and work on the computer – inside it’s a very special place, and the women who live here know that and feel very lucky.
This is what a resident of Craine House says…
“I spent… months serving my sentence at Craine House.  My children were able to stay with me.  When I was released, it was a happy and sad day because I felt secure and safe and learned so much about being a good mother and taking responsibility for myself and my kids.  But I also was ready to prove to myself that I could be a good member of the community and bring up my kids in a happy, healthy environment.  Thanks to Craine House, I have a job I like.  I think a lot about how lucky I was to have the opportunity for a second chance for myself and a better life for my kids.”
“The counselors at Craine House helped me realize I wasn’t a bad person – I just made some bad choices and chose some bad friends to hang out with.  I learned that I didn’t need drugs and alcohol to make me feel good.  Now I feel proud that I have a job and my kids have a real mom to love them.”

A special thanks goes to the Indianapolis Star for selecting Craine House as a recipient of “Season for Sharing” donations.

Heather’s Story:  Four trips to prison did little to change the reckless behavior that dominated the life of Heather Roberts Mills.  When released, the young Indianapolis woman went right back to her old ways.  Drinking, using drugs, driving without a license, hanging with the wrong people.  “Total chaos,” Mill, 26 admitted.  “I was pretty bad off.” Then, completing her court ordered sentence at Craine House, the troubled young mother found the help, clarity and strength to get her life back on the right track.  “Craine House,” Mills said, “is what really straightened me up.” This is but one of the 500+ success stories of Craine House.  To read this article from the Indianapolis Star use this link at: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011112270320

Heather Mills with husband Danny Mills and Lori Murray from Craine House.

Copyright 2012 Craine House
3535 N. Pennsylvania Street · Indianapolis, IN · 46205   Phone: 317·925·2833   Fax: 317·925·2834
www.crainehouse.org