Turning Leaf opening Columbia office

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Turning Leaf, a North Charleston-based nonprofit that provides services to men released from prison, is opening a new center in Columbia.

The organization combines behavioral therapy, one-on-one counseling, on-site transitional employment and job placement to aid with re-entry and reduce recidivism. Turning Leaf works with men most at risk for re-arrest in an effort to decrease the 67% of people re-arrested within three years of release nationwide, according to its website, and has a 78% success rate.

The organization is accepting applications for a program manager, classroom facilitator and peer specialist in its new Columbia office.

Founded in 2011, Turning Leaf features an in-house screen printing business that offers program participants a chance to apply the knowledge obtained in three hours of daily group therapy. Participants also have weekly meetings with case managers and are placed in permanent jobs that provide livable wages, benefits and growth opportunities, according to the website.

Founder Amy Barch taught a volunteer class in the Charleston County jail on making good decisions before devoting her full-time effort to Turning Leaf in 2012. The organization is the midst of a three-year, $3.2 million philanthropic campaign.