Dismas House of St. Louis

What Dismas House of St. Louis does

Dismas House of St. Louis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit residential reentry center (halfway house) founded in 1959 and recognized as America's first such facility. The organization provides transitional housing, supervision, and reintegration services for men completing federal prison sentences, operating under a per-diem contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) that has been continuously held for approximately 42 years. It is headquartered at 5025 Cote Brilliante Ave in St. Louis, Missouri, and self-reports having served more than 20,000 men cumulatively.

The core program combines residential supervision with a technology-enabled monitoring stack: smartphones with biometric authentication, GPS tracking, proximity sensors, a 14-panel drug testing protocol, and K9 inspections. Self-reported outcome metrics include a 97.37% drug-free rate across more than 40,000 tests from 2020 through 2025, a 9-in-10 successful discharge rate, a 4-in-5 employment success rate, and a reported resident mortality rate 4.8x lower than the general St. Louis population.

The business model is a cost-reimbursable/per-diem federal services contract with the BOP, renewed on a five-year competitive cycle; the most recent award runs May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2029. Revenue is effectively 100% derived from this single contractual relationship. In 2025, the organization restructured from a private operating foundation and created GGV LLC as a subsidiary to support new lines of activity. Leadership is led by Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Walk, with Carly Haas promoted to COO effective December 22, 2025, following the October 2025 death of prior COO Anthony Arington.

Name

Dismas House of St. Louis

Legal name

Dismas House of St. Louis

Website

https://dismashouse.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Dismas House of St. Louis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit residential reentry center founded in 1959, serving men completing federal prison sentences under a Federal Bureau of Prisons per-diem contract, with technology-enabled monitoring and employment programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Reentry Services

NAICS

Other Residential Care Facilities (6239)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN)

Keywords

• Residential reentry services
• Federal halfway house
• Inmate reintegration programs
• Case management services
• Supervision and monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Bureau of Prisons Contract: Income is derived from contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Dismas House has operated the federal residential reentry services contract for nearly 42 years. A new five-year contract was awarded starting May 1, 2024 following two years of contract extensions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Dismas House of St. Louis operates America's first Residential Reentry Center (RRC), providing housing, 24/7 supervision and accountability, case management, employment assistance, and substance abuse treatment coordination for individuals completing federal prison sentences and transitioning back into the community under a U.S. Bureau of Prisons contract.

Product overview

Dismas House of St. Louis operates as America's original Residential Reentry Center (RRC), providing a comprehensive suite of services to help justice-involved individuals successfully transition from federal incarceration back into the community. The organization offers a unified program combining residential housing, 24/7 supervision with GPS/biometric monitoring, case management, social services coordination, employment assistance, substance abuse treatment coordination through contracted providers, and client technology resources including smartphones and computer lab access. All services are delivered under a federal Bureau of Prisons contract and subject to quarterly audits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Reentry Center Services
• Case Management
• Employment Assistance
• 24/7 Supervision and Monitoring
• Social Services Coordination
• Substance Abuse Treatment Coordination
• Client Technology Resources
• Food Services
• PREA Reporting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 97.37% drug-free success rate from 2020-2025 with over 40,000 tests administered
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Southern District of Illinois U.S. Probation Office (USPO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2024Collaboration to host Second Chance Career Fair empowering individuals in their reentry journey. Event designed to connect clients with employment, education, and support resources. USPO refers clients to Dismas House and works jointly on reentry programming.
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation (JJK)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 October 2024Co-host of Second Chance Career Fair focused on connecting justice-involved individuals with employment, education, and support resources. Foundation provides community venue and support for reentry programming.
• Right SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOP-contracted provider for substance use and mental health services for clients at Dismas House. Coordinates community-based treatment and aftercare services for clients dealing with substance abuse.
• St. Louis Metropolitan Police DepartmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Relations Board member providing feedback and collaboration on improving Dismas House operations and community relations. Law enforcement representative on quarterly CRB meetings.
• City Parks DepartmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Relations Board member participating in quarterly forums to provide community perspective and improve Dismas House direction.
• U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP)coreOthersPrimary contracting agency. Dismas House operates under a five-year contract (May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2029) to provide residential reentry services for the Greater Metropolitan Area of St. Louis. Subject to quarterly audits and annual Contract Performance Assessment Reports.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Alvis House: Ohio-based nonprofit operating residential reentry and community corrections programs under similar government contracts. Most directly comparable to Dismas House by mission, structure, and reliance on publicly funded reentry contracts.
• BI Incorporated (GEO Care): Subsidiary of GEO Group providing electronic monitoring, GPS tracking, and case-management software to community corrections agencies. Directly comparable to Dismas House's smartphone/biometric monitoring stack on the technology side, and operates as a vendor to many of the same agencies.
• Dismas Charities: Separate nonprofit organization running residential reentry facilities across multiple states under federal/state contracts. Despite the shared name origin (St. Dismas), it is an independent operator with the same RRC business model and federal contracting profile as Dismas House of St. Louis.

Broad incumbents

• CoreCivic: Large publicly traded corrections and reentry operator with a Community Alternatives segment that runs residential reentry centers under BOP/state contracts. Overlaps with Dismas House on the RRC line of business but operates at national scale across corrections, detention, and reentry.
• GEO Group: Major publicly traded private prison and reentry operator; its GEO Reentry Services division runs residential reentry centers and community-based programs for the BOP and state agencies. Comparable to Dismas House on the residential reentry contract model, but with a much broader corrections portfolio.

Emerging players

• Center for Employment Opportunities: National nonprofit focused specifically on employment outcomes for people returning from incarceration. Overlaps with Dismas House's employment assistance pillar and is a likely partner/competitor for reentry employment funding in adjacent geographies.

Others

• Volunteers of America: Large national nonprofit operating reentry, supportive housing, and community corrections programs (including RRC-type services) under federal and state contracts. Comparable to Dismas House on nonprofit reentry services, though reentry is one of many service lines in its portfolio.
• The Salvation Army: International nonprofit with reentry, transitional housing, and substance abuse programs in many U.S. cities. Operates some residential reentry-style facilities and shares the federal-grant-funded nonprofit model, though reentry is a smaller part of a much broader social services portfolio.
• Goodwill Industries International: National nonprofit network running reentry employment programs (including Second Chance programs and federal bonding/Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit partnerships). Comparable to Dismas House's employer-engagement and employment-assistance pillar, and often a downstream employer partner for RRC clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dismashousestl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuZEhNpacfWm_xRbBJ0QyPg
• Facebookfacebook.com/DismasHouseSTL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dismashouseofstlouis

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dismas House of St. Louis