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ABOUT |
We create an environment of healing and facilitate the process of rehabilitation/re-entry for those who have been wrongfully incarcerated. |
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| OUR STORY |
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Sonia ‘Sunny’ Jacobs and Peter Pringle were each sentenced to death for crimes of which they were innocent. Jacobs spent 17 years in prison in the United States and Pringle spent 15 years in prison in Ireland. Both were exonerated after their convictions were overturned.
Today we are dedicated to the healing of those that have been wrongfully incarcerated. We have started The Sunny Center with this mission in mind. The Sunny Center is a sanctuary, providing exonerees with immediate, spiritual, emotional and physical support, with the goal of assisting them with overcoming the trauma, isolation, and disconnection resulting from wrongful incarceration. Our guests will become part of our Family and learn to accept and give Love again in a safe environment with people who understand and have experienced what they are going through. We have found Happiness in Life and in Love. And, at the very least, we can give Hope to others that they might have a Happy Life too. There is a common misconception that exonerees are compensated or supported after they leave prison. Sadly, this is not the case. It is Sunny and Peter’s goal to help innocent people heal and assimilate back in to this world after long periods of incarceration. |
OUR MISSION |
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There have been a number of efforts at helping the exonerated as they are released. We decided to open the Sunny Center in Ireland in order to fill a gap that exists in the efforts to provide for this specific group's immediate spiritual, emotional and physical needs.
Ireland is a country that has devoted itself to peace and reconciliation and healing as a nation, thereby making it the perfect place for an international center for healing. It is envisioned that this will be a pilot project to be duplicated around the world and managed by those who have previously benefitted from and been trained at the Sunny Center - because injustice exists everywhere. Our guests become part of our family, without having to prove anything or meet anyone's expectations or pretend that they are "ok". We have experienced what they have experienced, we know what they are going through because we have been there. We will, with the guidance of a professional team, provide them with the tools they need for healing. “What they need to experience most is love because in prison there is no love.” |
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| OUR OUTREACH |
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The Sunny Center Exoneree Housing Community
Tampa People think that when an Exoneree is released that their troubles are over, while, in reality, only 4% of exonerees receive compensation or support after release. The Sunny Center is the only organization in the world run by and for exonerees. With over 2000 exonerees in the United States alone, we must do more to support re-entry when the law does not. As a result, we chose to take a big step (and a big risk): The Sunny Center has opened the world’s first exoneree community in Tampa, Florida. Presently, we are able to provide housing and support for four people. We expect to see more self-sustaining Sunny Center housing and support communities open across the United States soon. But we need your support on our pilot project in Tampa to make this ripple effect happen. Here's How You Can Help in Tampa:
Please contact us via the form to the left and we will be in touch. |