Kathleen Rowe-Glendon: Services for the formerly incarcerated really do turn lives around

It is far past time that we stop viewing the formerly incarcerated as a throwaway population.

That’s why the article “Projects’ goal is to change lives” (Aug. 14, Page 1B) by Ken Carlson on Stanislaus County’s day reporting center for the formerly incarcerated was such welcome news.

These sorely needed re-entry services – including drug treatment, vocational training, education and literacy programs, and mental health care – are vital for the formerly incarcerated; it will enable them to acquire desperately needed tools in order to become productive members of communities in our county.

My story mirrors many of those who will be receiving services at the day reporting center. After I got out of prison, I was at a loss as to how I could become a source of pride to my extremely disappointed family. There were no viable re-entry services upon my release. It was through sheer determination and a supportive husband and family that I was able to pull myself up and begin to rebuild my shattered life. And, believe me, it was a mess.

I went back to school, started volunteering my time at an organization whose ideals mirrored my own and began seriously contemplating writing again after a long hiatus.

Those few sentences do not begin to describe the hours of study in order to obtain my master’s degree; the bridges I had to repair and the trust I had to earn back from loved ones I had wronged through my behavior. These hours of effort are the baggage every offender walks into once they get parole.

You either carry that burden until it become lighter or you reoffend and go back to prison. Parole and re-entry is not for the faint of heart.

The reporting center will be able to offer assistance and guidance to “formerly incarcerated persons” where historically there has been neither.

There are numerous programs in other states and countries that have been successful in offering badly needed assistance to FIPs.

These services open the door to developing badly needed skills in order to obtain employment and housing – both key components to a successful reintegration. Offenders are often very eager to receive intervention services to help in becoming rehabilitated.

Prison should not become a revolving door. Our jails and institutions often evolve into “crime schools” where the tenants learn to commit bigger and better crimes.

It is encouraging to see our county jump onboard with positive programs that will really change lives.

Studies have proven that re-entry services are key to an FIP’s success. Development of state-funded, nonprofit organizations is the only way to short-circuit the dinosaur that is the corrections industry.

Many of the most successful programs – such as Lionheart, GED programs for getting a high-school diploma, correspondence college classes, the Honor Program, and substance abuse programs – are accessible to inmates on both the county and state level.

The reporting center is something Stanislaus County can be proud of. And I, for one, am hopeful it is a success. Its success can mean only great things for our county and wonderful opportunities for its clients.

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Kathleen Rowe-Glendon: Services for the formerly incarcerated really do turn lives around."