Referrals
What you get back, and what you never will
For courts, probation and parole, discharge planners, reentry coordinators, and agencies. The terms are the same for everyone, and they are settled before the first man is referred — not negotiated after.
The line
BMV reports attendance, commitments completed, and exit status
You receive whether he came, and whether he did what he said he would do. Reported as a behavior statement, not an opinion — for example, attended eleven of twelve sessions and completed eight of eleven commitments.
BMV never reports content. You do not receive his notebook, what he wants, his numbers, or anything he said in the room. That exclusion is written into every agreement before the first referral. If an agency cannot accept it, BMV does not take that agency's referrals. The program is worth more intact than scaled.
Exit status
Four categories, always together
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Completed | Finished the twelve weeks in one run |
| Completed on return | Fell off, came back, finished. Reported separately — never folded into Completed |
| Withdrawn | Left and did not return |
| Interrupted | Removed by something outside his control — incarcerated, hospitalized, relocated. Never hidden, never counted as program failure |
Two categories are too blunt for this population. A man who did nine weeks and caught a violation is not the same as a man who came twice and vanished, and your file should be able to tell the difference.
Before he speaks a word
What a referred man is told
- What BMV reports to you: attendance, commitments, exit status.
- What BMV does not report: anything he says.
- That BMV has no legal privilege.
- What BMV keeps, and for how long.
A man on supervision deserves that before he speaks, not after. It is said plainly in the first session, and it is true.
Who it is built for
Moderate-to-high-risk men
Twelve weeks, once a week, in a small group is a high-dose program. The dose is matched to the population it is aimed at. BMV is not pursuing the lowest number by selecting men who were already going to be fine. It is pursuing the largest difference for the men who most need one — and it will report outcomes by risk level, never as a single average.
There is no outcome data yet. The first group has not met. BMV says so, and will keep saying so until the numbers are real and counted.
The house
If he needs a bed as well
NARR Level II, $205 a week whoever pays — the resident, a sponsor, a church, your agency, or a public program, including the state's bed-assistance program through DBHDS. Any lawful source of funds. No fee to apply, no fee for the waitlist. The program inside the house is voluntary, and declining it is never a reason for a discharge.
Two things to tell him before you send him: no marijuana in the house, including medical cannabis; and nobody is paid for a referral in either direction. Everything else about the house is here.
Employers
The program can come to a crew
Turnover, absences, safety incidents, and men falling apart with nobody noticing. The workforce room brings the same program to an employer's own people — and the employers who host it are often the ones who hire men coming home. That room opens after the first groups have run. Call to be on the list.
If you hire in the trades, the Work Desk is what your applicants are reading. It tells them what to have ready on day one and what the employer is required to provide.
To refer a man
Call, and we will send the standard in writing
One conversation, no form to start. Tell us his situation, his release or move date, and how the first weeks will be paid if he needs the house.
Or write: [email protected]. Ask for the referral standard and the house one-sheet.
Featured publication
The Other Walls
Sho-Don Lamont Gilliam and Better Men of Virginia · First edition, September 2026
A workbook for men coming home from incarceration or working through recovery. It covers the unwritten rules a man carries from one place to the next, the small commitments he can keep this week, and a plan for what comes next.
- CostFree
- FormatsWeb, fillable PDF, and print
- PrivacyNo registration. Nothing written in it is collected.