For People Just Leaving Prison, a Novel Kind of Support: Cash

The Future Leaders Apprenticeship Program (FLAP) provides formerly incarcerated individuals with paid positions, benefits, and hands-on training in prison advocacy, helping them transition successfully into meaningful careers while contributing to criminal justice reform through legislative victories like Illinois's 2019 youthful parole bill.

Impact Justice’s Homecoming Project helps formerly incarcerated individuals secure housing by pairing them with homeowners renting out a spare bedroom or studio space in their homes. Impact Justice pays the homeowner for six months, providing the formerly incarcerated participant with enough time to rebuild and acclimate to life outside of prison without the burden of paying rent. The Homecoming Project is meant to be an alternative to transitional housing that can sabotage the formerly incarcerated person’s independence.

Through targeted outreach and support across 15 campuses in the California State University system, Project Rebound has helped formerly incarcerated students earn nearly 500 university degrees since 2016, with a recidivism rate of less than one percent. Though the students still face stigma after release, they say Project Rebound provides a safe space for them to find stability and fellowship and connect over shared experiences.

The Inside Out Network is an online service that allows people who are incarcerated to search for and connect with organizations providing re-entry support, helping them begin to create a plan before they are released. So far, at least 1,600 people incarcerated in Arizona have enrolled in the program.

A New Way of Life gives formerly incarcerated women something that most did not get from prison: treatment for the trauma that so many incarcerated women suffered from domestic violence. As an antidote to a system geared to punishing wrongdoing without addressing its causes, New Way provides housing and supportive programs, many of which are taught by women with similar experiences. Some of the women tell their stories of lives repaired and families reunited thanks to New Way's interventions.

Among the many restorative justice programs in the U.S., the Domestic Violence Safe Dialogue program was one of the few to arrange face-to-face dialogue between survivors and men who had violently abused women. This form of surrogate dialogue – the pairings are between strangers – helps two people who want to change but can't do it alone. After extensive preparation and led by a facilitator, the meeting gives survivors a way to hear they were not to blame for the harm done to them, and for the men to admit responsibility and help someone else in ways that traditional punitive justice often cannot.

The West Virginia Council of Churches formed a network of community reentry councils to help people leaving prison line up basic necessities, from housing to employment. The councils use their members' community connections as a bridge between prison officials, who won't release people if they lack plans for a place to live, and returning citizens, whose housing, counseling, and employment needs can determine the difference between success and another stint in prison on a technical parole violation. Grants from two foundations helped the Council of Churches expand its network during the pandemic.

In 2018, San Francisco county forgave $32 million worth of criminal justice administrative fees. These fees are issued to formerly incarcerated individuals upon release from prison, most of which are not employed and without stable housing. The coalition pursuing this policy change cited economic justice for those that have already paid their societal debt and an overall state savings in collection costs as the primary reasons to end this practice.

Victims of violence that end up in the emergency room can return within two years with more injuries because of retaliation efforts. Philadelphia’s Healing Hurt People is a hospital-based violence intervention program that assists individuals who need medical care and mental health services. The hospital and social work collaboration helps reduce emergency room costs.

A misdemeanor for a poor person can mean denial of employment, housing, etc., removing any opportunities for change. A public defender's office in the Bronx is trying to stop this downward spiral by offering ex-offenders comprehensive and dedicated help.