Gatekeepers is an organization that focuses on re-entry. Their mission is to motivate, empower, and encourage both current and ex-offenders through mentoring services by challenging them to make positive decisions and ultimately help facilitate the process of a successful transition back to their communities. These individuals often do not have positive role models in their life to aid them in their efforts. The Gatekeepers team is dedicated to helping people overcome obstacles standing in their way to achieving success and reaching their life goals.
Created entirely for inmates and returning citizens, the Business of Living model began as a spark of inspiration when founder Bill Gaertner was incarcerated in a Maryland facility serving an eight-year sentence for domestic violence. Bill quickly learned that getting through the prison experience required him to take a hard look at himself and that he could no longer continue to do things as he had in the past. From this place of self-examination and contemplation, Bill determined that he was quite possibly approaching his last chance to make a real difference in the lives of others. He realized that there were few, if any, organized programs to help people to successfully reenter society after incarceration and this was his opportunity to make good and give back. Bill spent several years planning the Business of Living program, bouncing ideas off trusted friends he met in prison creating an innovative, simple, and practical life planning tool to help others as they transition from prison and into a productive life.
To learn more about how the Business of Living is helping thousands successfully re-enter life and stay home for good, visit Gatekeepers website.