About Gryphon Society
Our Mission:Gryphon Society's Mission is to help the person who exits jail or prison & has criminal justice and addiction issues. We work with the root causes that may produce crime and, through education and counseling, help ex-offenders and young people break the cycle of repeated crime and incarceration.
At Gryphon Society, we believe that educating the public of these issues is very important and consequently they may gain understanding by society. We believe that every human being has the ability to change, even in the face of enormous obstacles. We are committed to helping ex-inmates break the patterns of behavior that are destructive to themselves, their families and to the community. |
Who we are:Gryphon Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit social model recovery program that utilizes community service opportunities to help integrate clients with addiction and incarceration issues back into the community. With service work as our foundation, our clients learn to become a part of their community instead of existing apart from. Since 2000, we have grown to serve 5000 clients annually. We assist our clients to become self-sufficient, contribute to their community and reunite with their families.
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How we began:
In 1998, Gryphon Society began as a support group for men and women that came from lives of addiction and incarceration. At that time this group was made up of five core members and an addictions counselor.
The group got more and more popular as two of the members would go "fishing" at the SLO parole office for more members that could benefit from this group.
The Con-Anon group grew and each new member was assigned a mentor. The hardest part was watching members relapse and end back in institutions due to not having a clean, drug-free environment to go home to at night. Thus the birth of Gryphon Society — sober living homes: where men and women have a clean and safe place to go to begin a new way of life.
The group got more and more popular as two of the members would go "fishing" at the SLO parole office for more members that could benefit from this group.
The Con-Anon group grew and each new member was assigned a mentor. The hardest part was watching members relapse and end back in institutions due to not having a clean, drug-free environment to go home to at night. Thus the birth of Gryphon Society — sober living homes: where men and women have a clean and safe place to go to begin a new way of life.
Why the Gryphon Society?The Gryphon is a symbol of courage, valor, perseverance, strength and honor.
The Gryphon is a legendary creature with a lion's body, an eagle's head, long ears and an eagle's claws, to indicate that one must combine intelligence and strength. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the gryphon was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. It represents power, strength, supremacy, dignity and protection from evil. We selected the Gryphon because it is considered a guardian of riches and we consider education as a precious treasure. |