Employment is important to anyone’s success. Even more so is this true for the ex-prisoner, who faces unfamiliar, daily challenges like paying bills, finding housing, and supporting a family—often with little or no guidance.
Employment is important to anyone’s success. Even more so is this true for the ex-prisoner, who faces unfamiliar, daily challenges like paying bills, finding housing, and supporting a family—often with little or no guidance.
Life can go on for sex offenders, but only with clear guidelines set by themselves and others.
There were an estimated 700,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. at year-end 2009, according to state sex offender registries. But Maia Christopher of the Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) is quick to point out that not all sex offenders are the same.
In addition to the many challenges incarcerated pregnant women face, many prisons and jails shackle pregnant prisoners—with handcuffs, leg irons, or both—during transport and, most shockingly, during childbirth, adding undue trauma and difficulty.
An incarcerated pregnant woman faces many obstacles that her fellow inmates may not understand.
Being aware of the negative power of criminal networks can prepare volunteers to help the prisoners and ex-prisoners they serve. Guiding mentees to make tough choices now will help pave the way for their lasting success in life.
You Are Who You Hang Out WithYou may have heard this in your younger years from a parent or from a teacher in high school.
Prison Fellowship has been a leader in legislative reform for many years. Through its justice reform arm, Justice Fellowship®, the organization has fought for and celebrated many legislative successes, such as the Second Chance Act and the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
When a prisoner is locked up, the world he leaves behind does not stand still. It moves on without him. So when his long-awaited day of release finally arrives, he can’t just transition back into the same job or community that he left.
It’s no secret that housing plays a huge part in the success or failure of a returning citizen. Without a place to live, it’s extremely difficult to get one’s life back on track and to obtain necessary tools like an ID, a job, food, or transportation.
Though he came from a good family, Jerrid Wolflick got involved in the drug scene and developed a reputation as a troublemaker. After serving several years in prison in Oregon and Texas, he stood on the brink of freedom, frightened of what the future held.
We all depend on the four walls and a roof that we call home. Safe housing—like food, water, and clothing—is one of the simple needs all people have in common. But when it comes to ex-prisoners' need for housing, finding solutions is anything but simple.
Housing is a transitional service that is an important component for long-term reduction in recidivism. Nationwide, state agencies and secular and faith-based organizations are taking different approaches to the housing challenges facing returning offenders. Here are a few examples.
Houston, TexasState Departments of Corrections operate halfway houses; however, need exceeds capacity.
On February 16, the Department of Labor presented a conference call on grant opportunities, hosted by Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration Jane Oates. Nearly 1,000 individuals signed up to participate. The Department of Labor has made available the information and Web links discussed on that call.
Until this past December, conservatives have often turned a blind eye to the excesses and failures of the criminal justice system. I was certainly guilty of that when I was in the California State Assembly. However, the current fiscal crisis, in which every state faces a deficit, has prompted these conservatives to speak out.
Since 1985 the population of female prisoners has risen at nearly double the rate of males. Because women prisoners have historically been few, however, corrections policy has often not taken gender-specific needs into account. But over time, it has become increasingly obvious that female prisoners have different needs than men.
Chris Cleveland smoked his first joint at age 12. He remembers because that year his father and mother finally divorced.
Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.
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