This case describes how Mimi Silbert, a Berkeley University graduate with a PhD in criminal psychology and criminology, disappointed by results achieved using standard techniques in some of California’s toughest prisons, decided to try her own method of helping people who had hit rock bottom. The Delancey Street Foundation she founded in the early 1970s gave ex-convicts, drug addicts and other marginalized people an opportunity to change their lifestyle, get an education and earn an honest living. There was a strong confidence within Delancey Street, spurred by its founder, that by working hard and in a dedicated fashion, you could take on the greatest challenges. Among the community’s success stories are the Bay Area’s leading moving company, a print and copy shop, a car wash, a trendy bookstore café, and a gourmet restaurant that changed its menu every day. Delancey Street has become one of the few self-sustaining therapeutic communities in the US and the world.
