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Reentry after incarceration: A fresh start or a journey laden with baggage?

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Tenth in a series about the justice system

By DEBORAH E. LANS

HUDSON–Every year, more than 185,000 individuals are released from incarceration in New York. Indeed, it is axiomatic that virtually every one (statistically 99%) of those incarcerated today will be released one day. What happens during the “reentry” process is central to the question whether the formerly-incarcerated can pull free from the cycle of poverty – mental health or substance use complications – reoffending – and reincarceration.

In an interview with The Columbia Paper, Brian Fischer, the former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Services, described “reentry” as “the Achilles heel of transitional services” because “there isn’t a lot there.”

Various resources exist in Columbia County to help the justice-impacted prepare for and then navigate reentry. Chief among them is ReEntry Columbia, a not-for-profit based in Hudson in the First Reformed Church at 52 Green Street.

According to its Executive Director Danielle Hotaling, a licensed social worker, ReEntry provides continuing services and case management to 130-150 people every year, in addition to those seeking simply one-time assistance. The group focuses on three main areas: pre-release assessment and planning for those soon to be released; post-release support; and assisting the community to recognize gaps in, and develop, services to meet the needs of released individuals.

ReEntry tries to connect with its clients even before they leave incarceration, providing basic information about the reentry process and targeted resources in response to the individual’s requests. Ms. Hotaling visits the Columbia County Jail at least weekly to meet with current inmates and discuss their plans.

At the top of the list of needs is usually housing. Many justice-impacted individuals have lost their ties to family, lost their homes while incarcerated, lack resources and face discrimination from landlords who prefer not to rent to those with criminal records. If finding affordable housing is a challenge for working families in Columbia County, it is doubly so for those reentering the community. Ms. Hotaling says she has seen people living in tents in the woods for lack of an alternative. ReEntry seeks to assist its clients to find stable housing arrangements, which are key to their ultimate success.

As the Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) has written: “For people leaving prison or jail, housing is the factor that will dictate everything else: proximity to family, positive support systems, health care, economic opportunities, and on and on. Research has repeatedly shown that all measures of wellbeing suffer when people are unhoused or unstably housed.” (This points to the need for projects like the Wellness Hub, reported in the December 5 issue, which will include housing for, among others, those reentering the community.)

Clothing, food, telephones and forms of ID are also regular needs.

ReEntry also helps with finding employment. Clients engage in mock job interviews, get help with appropriate dress, and learn the ins and outs of the laws as to when and what must be disclosed about their backgrounds.

Basic material needs aside, a key to successful reentry is addressing the underlying issues that lead to incarceration in the first place, which are rarely ameliorated during incarceration. As CJI has noted, reentry efforts often fail because they “ignore the impact of trauma.” Trauma is often “a precursor to jail or prison and then as a corollary of incarceration is a near-universal experience. Untreated trauma can change the very structure of the brain, a process that risks being accelerated by the destabilization of reentry…”

Former Commissioner Fischer explained to The Columbia Paper that most who are in prison “have long histories of personal trauma and abuse, negative environments. Prison cannot fix the trauma…but we need to address it if we, and the incarcerated, are to effect change.”

ReEntry accordingly links its clients with appropriate service providers in the county for mental health, substance abuse disorder, anger management or other treatment. It also hosts a “warm night” every Wednesday from 4:30-7 p.m. Anyone in the community is invited to share conversation with those who are justice-impacted, have some food, and sometimes hear educational programs, such as a presentation by Greylock Federal Credit Union about financial literacy, budgeting and loan possibilities or a talk about technology, as the incarcerated have only limited access to computers and telephones and none to the internet.

The Columbia County Jail not only works with ReEntry but hosts programs intended to provide marketable skills that may translate to jobs outside incarceration. Corrections Captain Patrick Delaney explained to this paper that the Covid pandemic and staffing challenges have disrupted some efforts but among the jail’s current programs are a horticulture program, where inmates work in the garden adjacent to the jail, supervised by a CO who had been in the landscaping business; “Wheels of Justice,” a bicycle repair training program in which used bicycles are donated to the jail, Berkshire Bike and Board gives the jail bicycle parts and provides advanced training in bike repair; the refurbished bicycles are then donated to ReEntry or other service groups; and a program to train inmates to use janitorial equipment.

College-in-prison programs run, for example, by Columbia-Greene Community College (see the articles in the September 12 and 19, 2024 issues of this paper) also aid in reentry, bringing educational attainment to the incarcerated that will translate to greater success not only in employment but also reintegration into the community.

Wheels of Justice program. Photo contributed

Finally, the Clean Slate Act, a state law which took effect on November 16, will offer many who have offended a better chance for the future by providing for the eventual sealing of most criminal records, meaning that job and housing applicants will not have to reveal these past events. The law provides for the automatic sealing of misdemeanor records after three years and the sealing of many felony convictions after eight. There are limitations. Convictions for murder, sexually violent crimes and certain Class A felonies are not eligible to be sealed, sealing will not occur for those who are on probation or parole or who have pending criminal charges and records will still be available for criminal justice purposes, to law enforcement and to certain employers, such as those in education.

According to cleanslateny.org, 2.3 million New Yorkers have conviction records that shadow their efforts to obtain housing, employment and other benefits for a lifetime. A study of a similar law in Michigan found that within one year of clearing their records, people were 11% more likely to be employed and to have 22% higher wages; moreover, in the five years after sealing, those individuals were less likely to commit crimes than the general public.

In all, efforts to reduce recidivism are not only humane but also good economics. The Brennan Center for Justice estimates that New York loses about $1.9 billion alone every year due to reduced earnings related to a conviction record. Federal government statistics estimate that New York State will spend $433 million simply for the reincarceration of those released from incarceration in one year (2022). Investing in successful reentry not only mitigates these losses and expenses but also all the costs associated with reoffending and reincarceration: the trauma and losses of victims, the disruption of the families of both victims and offenders, the costs of the court system and more.

To contact reporter Deborah Lans, email deborahlans@icloud.com

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