TESS
Toward Establishing A Safer Society
Additional TESS Documents:
Role Model Schools Part 2
Role Model Schools Part 3
Role Model Schools Part 4
Role Model Schools Part 5
The following information is copied from a portion of the original TESS Articles of Incorporation, which you can view in their original form at the bottom of this page:
CONTINUATION OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A SAFER SOCIETY, INC.
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE, ACTIVITIES AND PHILOSOPHY
Section 1: Purpose
TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A SAFER SOCIETY, INC., herein referred to as TESS, is a nonprofit charitable organization. The purpose of this organization is to be of service and assistance to people of all ages without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, sex, height, weight, marital status, or handicap (i.e., everyone is to be treated an equal, although referrals will be made to profit making organizations for those that can afford certain services of TESS, such as counseling), and attempt to alleviate the increasing crime problem.
Section 2: Activities
TESS’ activities, to be accomplished by it and it’s institutions (and by aiding other institutions by providing where necessary, desired, and available) financial support, promotion, training and provision of personnel and/or leadership, are to:
1. Promote or provide universal nursery school for children age 3 and 4.
2. Promote or provide universal family living and self esteem classes for children age three and over, upwards through high school, which classes will be structured for the needs of the child.
3. Promote or provide more crisis, mental health, and substance abuse centers.
4. Promote self understanding of the general public through the use of the media as to the cause of crime, creating the awareness of the general public that punishment and retribution alone assist limitedly in the teaching of social responsibility, and seldom rehabilitate offenders and prevent recidivism.
5. Promote self understanding of the general public through the use of the media of institutions that are currently available to assist those who are nervous, anxious, angry, depressed or despairing, which symptoms can cause individuals to become offenders or victims of crime or chemically dependent.
6. Promote or provide assistance to the indigent with training, employment, food, clothing and shelter.
7. Promote or provide more therapeutic halfway hoses
for misdemeanants as well as for felons who are not dangerous to themselves and
others.
8. Promote the provision of military style detention centers patterned after basic training units for at least our youthful offenders needing incarceration, wherein strict discipline with reasonable punishment can be given for minor infraction of the rules, wherein reward is given for good behavior, wherein psychotherapy and group therapy can be given where needed, and wherein a viable skill can be taught the inmate.
9. Promote the provision where needed of bunk beds in our jails and prisons, so that more of those who are dangerous to themselves and others can be properly incarcerated.
10. Promote or provide self-esteem classes, group and other therapy, and other sound rehabilitation techniques for all offenders.
11. Promote the placement of an offender serving probation for non-violent crime in the custody of his or her parents or other trained and responsible individual, to whom the offender will have to obey under the penalty of having such situation terminated, and if so, being compelled to go to a military style detention center, halfway house, jail or prison as required by the court.
12. Promote and implement role model schools and life enhancement centers.
13. Promote the universal use of deferred sentences in non-violent crimes, especially for first offenders, wherein the offender who is on probation or its equivalency will not have a criminal record if he does not commit any further crime during the period of one year.
14. Promote counseling by use of trained peer groups to students who dropped out or are considering dropping out of high school.
15. Promote the use of a youth’s trained peers to hear and set forth the penalty where the offender commits a non-violent crime.
16. Promote better support for our state mental institutions and provide assistance in the care of their patients.
17. Promote or provide therapy in schools to troubled students.
18. Promote or provide where needed volunteer probation counseling, volunteer inmate counseling and volunteer parole aide counseling so that any offender can be provided counseling on a one to one basis.
19. Promote or provide legal aid to the indigent.
20. Promote or provide volunteer aides to anyone where there is a need, and
21. Promote or provide any form of relief to alleviate the cause and effect of crime.
A substantial portion of the above activities will be accomplished though the use of trained volunteers, especially through the use of senior citizens.
Section 3: Philosophy
Studies have shown that an offender generally commits crime due to compulsion because he or she has low self-esteem and has been the victim of child abuse or child neglect. In addition, government research has established that much of the population will increasingly become victims of violent crime, with the cost to society becoming increasingly burdensome. Furthermore, penal institutions on the whole do not do an adequate job of rehabilitating the offender, since the emphasis of law enforcement is on punishment. Therefore, TESS desires to establish the preceding programs since they have been proven to prevent criminal behavior and to rehabilitate offenders.
ARTICLE VI
DISSOLUTION
In the event of dissolution, all assets, real and personal, shall be distributed in accordance with state and federal law to organizations which are qualified as tax exempt under Sec. 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. It is recommended that all assets be distributed to such qualified organizations as would carry on the activities of TESS.
ARTICLE VII
EXISTENCE
TESS shall have perpetual existence.
ARTICLE VIII
BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTIES
A volunteer director is not personally liable to TESS or it’s board of directors for monetary damages for a breach of his/her fiduciary duties, subject to the exceptions as stated in Michigan Compiled Laws (NCL) 450.2209.
DATED: February 6, 1989
David C. Hakim, Incorporator
TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A SAFER SOCIETY, INC. (TESS)
Original Documents (click any thumbnail to view full-size image):
