关系和信任是重返社区的必要条件

Incorporating justice-impacted individuals into a community can be difficult for businesses, 房东, 学校领导, 和其他人. Those working in various Minnesota 和 Ramsey County correctional departments build relationships throughout the community to help these individuals transition into society while keeping general public safety at the forefront of their decisions.

“If we truly want to change the crime picture 和 reduce the number of victims, 我们不能继续对以前被监禁的人关上大门,马克·艾略特说, 爱博体育手机版下载社区矫正的缓刑官主管.

He has worked for over 30 years with men 和 women on probation or parole. 今天, he is specifically involved with those in supervised release programs who have finished two-thirds of their sentence or are on probation. His experience indicates that persons on all sides of this complex scenario face numerous barriers to integrating justice-impacted individuals into society. 

平衡

Offenders often face the perception that they are likely to repeat the crime that led to their original incarceration or commit new crimes in their new community. Parole agents 和 probation officers struggle with their desire to help these individuals find work 和 residential options while not losing sight of honoring victims' needs. 雇主, 房东 or school officials necessary for providing opportunities struggle with the potential risk of hiring someone with a justice-impacted background. But in the face of these struggles, one fact ties them together, 艾略特说.

“Recidivism will increase for the formerly incarcerated who cannot find productive work or places to live,他说. “Most people don’t underst和 that not providing these items increases the likelihood the individuals will be non-compliant with their probation or parole terms. 我们必须给他们资源来改变这种行为.”

关系与信任

Developing relationships is a critical first step to providing solutions to those struggles. 缓刑和假释官经常出现在社区中, seeking to build long-term relationships with 房东 和 business owners, creating an underst和ing that they will be present 和 visible with the justice-impacted individuals, 帮助满足他们的基本需求.

这些关系需要信任, 具体来说，社区的安全将是第一位的.

“We are always mindful of public safety while offering chances for community members to help formerly incarcerated persons turn their lives around for the better,艾略特说. 

Cognitive behavior interventions have helped make this conversation different from the past. 的re needs to be less telling them what they need 和 more hearing what they need, 这对所有人来说都是一次令人难以置信的大开眼界的经历, 艾略特说.

“We are good at telling people what to do, but that isn’t necessarily helpful in the long run. We have to ask about what life looked like when they were on the right track,他说. “我已经看到这种方法导致了更多的人, 这是他们有生以来第一次, 一套公寓, 健康保险, 戒酒等等, 和, 结果是, 那么多的人不会违反他们的缓刑.”

Those items go a long way toward providing mental stability in any person’s life. Focusing on those needs means paying more attention to the impact of mental health programming, 考虑到它的成本和监禁的成本. 的 全国精神疾病联盟 据报道，2018年, 在联邦拘留所关押一名成年人的费用是37美元,每年449英镑, while the average cost of an episodic psychiatric treatment in a community hospital was $3,616 to $8,509. 换句话说, the cost of approximately one to three months in prison would provide the hospitalization necessary for episodic psychiatric treatment.

真正的改变

问问任何一位人力资源经理, real estate agent or l和lord; finding good people is an ongoing endeavor, 不考虑人口统计学. 美国.S. 就业市场面临的总离职率为 47.2% in 2021. 美国.S. 人口普查局的报告大约为 12%-15%的人口流动 每年. Thoughtful approaches are necessary to match these needs as more 和 more people are released from incarceration 和 seek a new beginning. While resources such as Community Corrections 和 other second chance service organizations are available to help promote successful reentry,  这也需要整个社区的支持.

“对雇主来说, 房东和其他持观望态度的人, I believe we can meet in the middle of providing public safety 和 providing opportunities,艾略特说.  “Doing so can make true changes in the lives of justice-impacted individuals 和 our society as a whole.” 

爱博体育手机版下载劳动力服务中心 有很多项目旨在帮助雇主找到合格的工人吗, 包括受到司法影响的个人. 今天爱博love体育了解更多 公平的机会, the collaboration of Ramsey County 和 the 劳动力创新委员会 of Ramsey County with information, resources 和 events to help employers better underst和 the value of hiring individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.