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Reintegrating Prisoners Back Into Society Essay

2740 Words11 Pages

Jonathan Deaton
Professor French
Intro to Criminal Justice 1100
28 March 2023
How Do You Reintegrate Prisoners Back into Society? The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with many individuals being reincarcerated after release. This has led to significant concerns about how these individuals can successfully reintegrate into society. So, this begs the question, how do you reintegrate prisoners back into society? This paper will examine several methods for reintegrating prisoners into society and evaluate their effectiveness in rehabilitating them. The strategies discussed include addressing employment, education, access to support services, and family and housing issues. The first thing …show more content…

Many formerly incarcerated individuals struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. Without access to treatment, these individuals are at a higher risk of returning to criminal behavior and reoffending. Services such as employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, housing assistance, and education and training are needed to help ex-convicts reintegrate back into society. These supportive services are effective because they address the main factors that contribute to high reoffending rates, which are unemployment, drug addiction, homelessness, and lack of education. According to a study carried out in three states, ex-offenders who obtained jobs following their release were less likely to re-offend (Visher et al., 2011). This helps to understand the value of giving ex-offenders career training, help with job searches, and assistance with resumes and cover letters. Halfway homes are one of the programs that also provide help with physical and mental care, and the frequent drug testing also helps to discourage residents from substance abuse because if they fail the drug test they are kicked out, or severely punished (Caputo, 2004). Focusing more on each specific issue, Substance abuse is another important issue found among ex-convicts which is why they need to get drug and alcohol treatment. Substance abuse counseling can help ex-offenders stay clean and reduce …show more content…

Mentors can provide guidance, and support, and be overall positive role models in their lives. According to a study by Western Carolina University, mentoring programs can help formerly incarcerated individuals build self-esteem and self-worth, while also providing emotional and practical support as they face challenges such as finding employment and housing (McNair et al., 2019). Having a mentor in your life is such an important aspect of life and helping better yourself, especially in the position that these formerly incarcerated individuals are facing where they are trying to reassimilate back into society after being locked in an isolated environment for such a long time, having someone show them how to live back in normal society is one of the most important things to successfully helping them reintegrate back into society. Peer support programs are also important alongside mentorship. These programs are designed to provide formerly reincarcerated individuals with a sense of community and belonging, which is important for those who may have lost social connections during their time in prison or may have fallen out with their family and have nobody they can call their family or friends. Peer support programs can also help address mental health and substance abuse issues, which as stated in a previous paragraph is one of the more

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