Providing Tools for a Successful Transition
Do you find it difficult to understand just how you fit into the criminal justice system? Many of us have a sense that we play no role at all. The reality is we contribute - whether through inaction or action - in creating a healthy or unhealthy correctional system through a variety of ways: taxes, politics, community programs, job opportunities, neighborhood housing options, human services, and building up or breaking down social barriers around former felons.
Formerly incarcerated people are among the most marginalized and stigmatized people in our society. By increasing awareness, sharing statistics, dispelling myths and offering opportunities, Fair Shake intends to demystify former felons and return them to their rightful status as free and accountable citizens.
Have you ever wondered, "What do we gain from our investment in corrections"? We house, feed, and care for 2.3 million prisoners at an average cost of $24,000 per inmate per year. Over 95% of all prisoners will be released, yet nearly 70% of them will return to prison within 3 years, once again sponsored by our tax dollars. Anticipated costs such as prisons, police, lawyers, judges, and parole are substantial on their own, but so too are the hidden externalized costs such as the deterioration of our cities, increased social anxiety, and expensive "welfare" that could be better used in job creation, improved services, and supporting communities.
Ironically, while our prison population and recidivism rate is growing, funding for prison educational programs is shrinking. If 'correction' and 'rehabilitation' are no longer goals of our criminal justice system, and criminals are simply being warehoused, how does this process make us safer? At an average investment of roughly $100,000 per sentence, one trip to prison should be enough!
Incarceration gives criminals the opportunity to understand the gravity of their crime, reconsider their role as a member of our society, and plan their return to the community. While we feel that the system is working for us by keeping inmates out of reach today, we must remember that the prison door will open for them tomorrow. Without proper information and preparation, former felons may come home with the same perspective that put them in prison in the first place.
Once former felons return to our communities they often lack ways to prove pro-social ambitions and employers, property managers, and neighbors are justifiably skeptical of their intent. They become marginalized and stigmatized, but when shunned by communities their chances for staying out of prison are further reduced. Desperation leads to poor decisions, producing greater risk for us all.
Though the main focus of Fair Shake will be to prepare people for success, our participants will also learn to brace for the worst: rejection, set backs, obstacles, and negativity. This is where they will find some of their greatest challenges. On many fronts prison life is vastly different from public life, which is one of the many reasons the transition process is very difficult. To learn more about the differences between prison life and life in society, check out Culture Shock!