When Alphonso Marsh was released from prison several months ago he felt stressed and depressed. He didn't have contact with his family, didn't have a place to sleep, hardly had any clothes, and wasn't sure anyone would employ him.

"I had no where to go," said Marsh, who had completed a 28-month prison sentence at Avenal State Prison in Colinga.

But help arrived in the form of Dominican Sister Mary Sean Hodges and parishioner Jack Vrtar of San Gabriel Mission. The two picked up Marsh from prison and helped him find housing at McIntyre House, a sober living community. Through St. Vincent de Paul he was able to get some clothes. Sister Hodges and Vrtar often visited and talked to him by phone. They gave him job leads, and Marsh attended a 12-step program for those trying to rehabilitate their lives.

But rehabilitation is tough business. Some 70 percent of parolees return to prison within a year's time, said Sister Hodges. It's a dismal statistic she thinks can be turned around. Mentoring is key.

"I see that a person who does not have resources within and without just simply can't make it without the support," said Sister Hodges. She's banking on the power of mentoring relationships to break the recidivism cycle.

The silver-haired sister directs the parish-based program to resettle released prisoners out of the archdiocesan Office of Detention Ministry. Through the year-old Partnership for Re-entry Program, a parish team of four to six people sponsors an inmate. They correspond through letters and help the person set goals. Once released, parishioners help the parolee find housing, maintain phone contact and meet with the parolee every week for the first three months. Parishes are not required to make a monetary commitment to participate.

The program has received funding from St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities and office space from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

In addition to San Gabriel Mission, parishes involved include St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in South Central Los Angeles, Our Lady of Refuge Church in Long Beach, St. Mel Church in Woodland Hills, St. Ferdinand Church in San Fernando, Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge and Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Claremont.

"A lot is just having someone who's positive to talk to. They will give you the right guidance," observed Marsh of his mentors. "This can help a person coming out of prison tremendously if they have the intention of changing."

For Marsh, 48, the internal transformation began while in prison, after a suicide attempt.

"I knew something had to change in my life. I was doing something wrong," said Marsh, who had lost contact with his family following a domestic violence charge stemming from drug use.

Marsh met prison chaplain Ned Quigley and got involved in Catholic services and Bible study. He began reflecting on his life and the heartache of losing contact with his young son.

"I didn't mean to lose my family," said Marsh. "I finally felt pain from what I had been inflicting on other people. I cried out to God."

Marsh said he's determined not to go back to prison, and stays in touch with his mentors daily.

"It gives me more strength and I want to do right, because there's someone that does care," he said softly.

But the temptations are fierce. A month ago, following a one-day drug relapse, Marsh voluntarily admitted himself into a treatment program. Sister Hodges talks with him regularly, listens, believes in him, encourages him to take the next step.

Parolee mentoring, she said philosophically, "is not for those who need it tidy. The mentor program is to stay with a person to bring them through, even despite the setbacks."

Sister Hodges said her work has helped her to appreciate the human condition and God's unwavering presence. God, she said, "doesn't see the setback as much as the challenge to go forward." Victory, she added, "is being willing to move again in the right direction."