Second Chance is GiftLift's program for people coming home from incarceration — re-entry support, transition into housing, and the first months of stability back in the community. Cards are routed through case managers and reentry-program staff who already have a relationship with the resident, never handed out at the gate, never tied to a means test. The card shows up where a trusted worker can put it in someone's hand at the right moment.
When a partner case manager is placing a resident into transitional housing, GiftLift provides the first-night kit — grocery cards for the move-in, transit to the placement, a pharmacy card for a prescription due that week. The card leaves with the case manager, not the program, following the same hands-off principle that runs through the rest of GiftLift's work.
For residents working with reentry programs during the first months back, partners keep a small ongoing card balance on hand — grocery, transit, clothing retail. The exact mix of categories stocked follows what partner staff are already hearing from the people they serve that week, not a fixed formula.
A donated gift card becomes a tool a reentry case manager hands to one person at a time. Donate a card, or partner with us if your organization already serves people returning from incarceration.
Donate a gift card → Partner with us →