Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • 'I feel human again' — At three hotels, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers get the support they need Audio icon

    October 12, 2020 |

    Queens Daily Eagle |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    When jails and prisons released people early as a pandemic precaution, New York City responded to the threat of increased homelessness by temporarily housing more than 400 people in hotels while providing them with re-entry services aimed at preventing new crimes. Exodus Transitional Community, the city's contractor, provided a combination of emergency shelter and counseling that would be unavailable in standard homeless shelters. No COVID-19 cases have been reported in the hotels, while residents praise the service for giving them the stability and safety they need to restart their lives.

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  • Voting from Jail Is a Right, and Now a Reality in Chicago

    September 21, 2020 |

    70 Million |

    Podcast |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    Chicago's Cook County Jail became the first jail in the nation in March to open a polling place behind bars, resulting in about 1,800 voters casting ballots, a sharp increase in voting by eligible voters in the jail. The polling place, combined with expanded voter-registration efforts, resulted from a new Illinois law requiring all counties to expand voting access. Outside of Chicago that means voting by mail. The Chicago experience provides a window into efforts nationwide to expand voting access to people incarcerated in jails and prisons, or with criminal records.

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  • How Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters Are Getting the Jobs and Pay They Deserve

    September 17, 2020 |

    Yes! Magazine |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    The Fire and Forestry Recruitment Program serves as an intermediary between formerly incarcerated people trained as firefighters and the agencies they seek work from once they have been released from prison. California has long used incarcerated firefighters in its wildfire-fighting work, paying them poverty wages and then usually denying them the jobs they're trained for outside prison. FFRP has helped more than 100 such people find jobs, using training, certifications, and job-searching help. Its services are in high demand as a lower prison population coincides with record wildfires.

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  • More People With Felony Convictions Can Vote, but Roadblocks Remain

    August 31, 2020 |

    Stateline |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    A longstanding campaign to restore voting rights to people with felony convictions led nine states since the 2016 presidential election to create or expand such rights, benefiting hundreds of thousands of potential voters. As of 2016, an estimated 6.1 million people were unable to vote because of a felony conviction. As that number has dropped, advocates have faced another obstacle: getting newly enfranchised people to register and vote. Nationwide, a number of advocacy and public-interest groups are racing to register the formerly incarcerated as the 2020 election approaches.

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  • The coronavirus gave them jobs — and a new lease on life

    August 25, 2020 |

    Los Angeles Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

    Finding gainful employment after incarceration is hard in the best of times, but during a global pandemic it's even more challenging. A Los Angeles nonprofit, Chrysalis, has been able to place the hard-to-employ job seekers in hotels that have been leased by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to house people experiencing homelessness. Chrysalis typically prepares people for permanent jobs but also finds transitional roles such as some of the positions that have been filled in the 38 hotels under lease by the city.

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  • Sent to prison young, they found healing at northern Michigan camp

    August 15, 2020 |

    Detroit Free Press |

    Multi-Media |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Ypsilanti, Michigan

    The Youth Justice Fund sends formerly incarcerated men and women to a lakeside summer camp as therapy for the trauma they suffered growing up and during long prison sentences that started when they were teenagers and extended decades into adulthood. By enjoying water sports on Lake Michigan and taking classes in art and music on a 300-acre forested campground, the recently released people find a safe place to talk about their trauma and the challenges of reentering society. For some, these days represent the first real freedom and joy they have experienced as adults.

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  • From life in prison to out on parole: One group easing the transition

    August 14, 2020 |

    The Christian Science Monitor |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

    California, home to an unprecedented number of prison "lifers" who served decades since their teens and then were released under revised parole policies, created the Peer Reentry Navigation Network (PRNN) to have fellow former lifers coach and hold accountable the newly released. Now in 28 communities, PRNN has formed a community of peer mentors helping the formerly incarcerated remake their lives on the outside after lives of violence and trauma. The mentors' 24/7 help covers behavioral advice, job leads, and rebuilding family relationships. Despite some missteps, most mentees have stayed out of trouble.

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  • Leaving Gun Towers and Barbed Wire for a Healing House

    August 07, 2020 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

    A New Way of Life Reentry Project creates homes for women as they leave prison, providing a refuge and programs to help ensure a more successful transition into life on the outside. The network of small group homes, started in Los Angeles and expanded to 16 houses in multiple states, boast a 90% success rate. New Way’s approach prizes ordinary homes in residential neighborhoods, unlike jail-like settings common in transitional housing, which generally caters to men. Classes include careers, therapy, and family reunification.

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  • The surprising way to stop shootings that doesn't involve more cops and arrests

    July 31, 2020 |

    Mother Jones |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

    After two failed attempts, Oakland Ceasefire retooled its approach and since 2013 has been a significant factor in lowering homicides and nonfatal shootings. The program, used in various ways in many cities, identifies young men at high risk of getting shot or shooting others and then offers them life coaching and social services to keep them out of trouble. By de-emphasizing the role of police, pinpointing those most in need of help, boosting community involvement, and forming deeper personal relationships, the program is credited with a 32% reduction in gun homicides over a six-year study.

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  • Former D.C. inmates use virtual meetings for support, encouragement as they adjust to life outside prison

    July 09, 2020 |

    The Washington Post |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

    Freed from prison after serving at least 15 years, often much longer, for crimes committed when they were teens, a group of men holds twice-monthly Zoom meetings to lend structure and peer support to their lives during a time when COVID-19 restrictions foreclose other face-to-face meetings. Under Washington, D.C.’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, 42 men have been released. At least 22 of them meet regularly to share leads on possible jobs, discuss their frustrations, and encourage each other to stay focused on the positive.

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