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How a program became a model for life after prison

Alasyn Zimmerman

June 03, 2021 |

KOAA-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado's Transforming Safety initiative empowers communities to decide how to use grant money to address high rates of recidivism. One community-chosen grantee is Colorado Springs Works, founded by a man who made a habit of asking those he was incarcerated with why they had been sent back to prison on parole violations. Lack of good jobs was a key reason, and so the program he created helps recently incarcerated people get job training and jobs on the outside.

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A business without bosses

Euan McKirdy Jaisal Noor

June 03, 2021 |

The Real News Network |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

ChiFresh Chicago is owned and run by formerly incarcerated women of color. The business' five owner-workers responded to the pandemic's effect on food insecurity, in neighborhoods that already had high rates of that problem, by providing healthy, culturally appropriate meals to the communities hardest hit. In the longer term, ChiFresh's goal is supporting the community's food sovereignty while managing their own livelihood on their own terms.

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Startup Helps Those Affected By Gangs And Gun Violence Find A Way Out

Katia Riddle

May 29, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

The boom in green-energy spending and government grants fuels the work of Leaders Before Legends, a Portland startup that lines up well-paying jobs installing solar panels and the like. The jobs go to people formerly incarcerated on charges related to gun violence. Leaders was founded by a man whose own gun-charge incarceration exposed him to the way that business people think. He turned that exposure into a mission to help others learn how to make money legally and safely. In the past year, the program has found work for 10 people. It is working to expand its city funding to scale up.

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Reforms are emptying Louisiana's prisons. This group makes sure no one goes back.

Katy Reckdahl

May 26, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

First 72+ is a New Orleans reentry agency founded by formerly incarcerated people to help others as they exit prison. That help focuses on everyday needs for transportation, housing, and emotional support. As in many states, a large share of formerly incarcerated people get sent back to prison, often for lack of support on the outside. The name First 72+ refers to research showing how the first 72 hours after prison can determine one's fate. In six years, none of the 176 people, mostly men, served by the agency has returned to prison, a record that prompted the state to send more clients to the agency.

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More States Consider Automatic Criminal Record Expungement

Kristian Hernández

May 25, 2021 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

At least 11 states have enacted laws that automatically seal certain criminal records, to help people find jobs and housing without long-ago mistakes posing unfair obstacles. Pennsylvania's 2019 law has helped an estimated 1 million people. Debates and criticisms focus on safety concerns; whether to grant law enforcement officials access to sealed records; and the limits of such protections based on types of crimes and how long ago they were committed. When expungement isn't automatic, the cost and complexity of applying for help can be so daunting that few manage to win a second chance.

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Formerly Incarcerated People in West Virginia Find Community Support

Amanda Page

May 24, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, West Virginia

Community reentry councils are helping formerly incarcerated people access the support they need to get back on their feet. The councils are a network of agencies and organizations that can aid in securing housing, employment, clothes, transportation, and even help with navigating food stamps and Medicaid paperwork. The collaborative reduces recidivism rates by giving formerly incarcerated people the tools and services they need to thrive.

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Life after prison: Communities heal by helping former inmates succeed

Sean McDonnell

May 13, 2021 |

Akron Beacon Journal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

People returning home to Akron from prison step into a community that needs healing, work that the formerly incarcerated can help with because of the lessons they can impart to younger people. But first they need their own healing. South Street Ministries and Truly Reaching You, two nonprofits run by formerly incarcerated men, help people in re-entry clear the barriers to housing and jobs that can doom them to returning to prison. They also provide peer counseling and mental health care.

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As Formerly Incarcerated People Return to Their Communities in W.Va., This Network of 'Resource Brokers' Is There to Guide Them

Amanda Page

May 11, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, West Virginia

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.

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People leaving prison in Michigan still face hurdles to getting an ID

Angie Jackson

May 11, 2021 |

Detroit Free Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Michigan prisons and the state's secretary of state teamed up to provide people leaving prison on parole with the one thing they often lack: valid personal identification papers. Without a Social Security card or state ID, people struggle to get hired, rent housing, or open a bank account. In the program's first six months, more than 1,200 people got IDs. That's only a third of those eligible. Private groups have taken up some of the slack. The state says it should provide get the service fully up to speed by late 2021.

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Huge success for Mother's Day bailout, as annual Philly effort blows past fundraising goal

Michaela Winberg

May 06, 2021 |

Billy Penn |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund freed more than 400 people from jail in 2020, thanks to $3 million donated amid the COVID-19 crisis and racial justice protests. Organizers of the Black Mama's Day Bailout, an annual targeted campaign that gave rise to the community bail fund five years ago, expected donor fatigue this year might limit their work. But they exceeded the 2020 Mother's Day campaign, freeing 25 women, in part from sales of art made by formerly incarcerated women in a partnership with an arts co-op. Cash bail penalizes people too poor to afford to remain free before trial.

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