Hotline connects formerly incarcerated people with reentry resources

A hackathon in Philadelphia brought together a diverse group of people, including formerly incarcerated individuals, to discuss the complex issue of reentry and come up with tech-based ways to help. The collaboration resulted in four promising projects, with several created to be accessible through text messaging, rather than apps, as many formerly incarcerated individuals lack access to smartphones and wifi.

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.

Ruthie's Café in South Dallas operates a second-chance employment program that provides jobs and support to individuals with criminal records and those experiencing homelessness. The program hires people often rejected by traditional employers and wraps employment with holistic services, including case management, housing assistance, and transportation support. Currently, 95% of Ruthie's staff are second-chance employees.

Through the second chance employment program at Ruthie’s Cafe, people who have been impacted by the justice system can work in a supportive environment that also helps them get access to resources like transportation and housing assistance.

California is shifting to expand programs that help give incarcerated people the skills and knowledge they need to effectively transition back into society. Various re-entry programs for men and women across the state that connect people with education and job resources helped dropped recidivism rates from 44.6% to 41.9%, based on the state’s most recent data, and also cost taxpayers less than the average cost of incarceration.

Transfr is a tech company that provides free virtual reality job training and education to help facilitate employment opportunities. Transfr specifically focuses on providing these opportunities for disadvantaged people in places like domestic violence shelters, mental health clinics, juvenile detention centers and state correctional institutions where access to skill-building and further education is often hard to access. So far Transfr has 30 partnerships across 18 states.

The Fringe coffee shop in Hamilton, Ohio, employs people who were formerly incarcerated as part of a re-entry program. The shop owners work with each employee to create a re-entry plan that can include things like therapy, addiction and recovery meetings, tutoring and education, and even free tattoo removal.

A community violence intervention program modeled after READI is beginning in Philadelphia to connect high-risk individuals who were victims of violence or formerly incarcerated with basic needs services like therapy, employment, and housing assistance to reduce violence and recidivism. Holistic approaches like READI have already proven effective as half of participants are still working full time a year after attending the program and the program’s experimental group saw a 79% reduction in arrests for shootings and homicide.

The non-profit défi-job offers incarcerated people with permission to leave the semi-open prison for their working hours employment contracts to create new, more fulfilling job opportunities, as well as necessary skills training. The group also accompanies people during their job search to help them find permanent forms of employment. Data has shown that at the end of the contract, 90% of employees have found work in the first or second labor market.

The Cleveland Clergy Coalition pools together church resources to provide community programs, including daily transportation to a manufacturing plant in the suburbs that offers stable, good-paying jobs and benefits. Many of the people who utilize the program were formerly incarcerated and are looking to reintegrate into the workforce.