Providing Second Chances
America is a nation founded on the idea of second chances, yet we close doors that lead to a better life for a whole segment of the population. People with criminal convictions are stigmatized in the labor market and barred from specific jobs, unable to vote, and shut out of public housing.
But policies once rationalized as just desserts and good for public safety increasingly are viewed as counter-productive. Key arenas for creating second chances are in higher education and housing. What we’ve found: The payoff of bringing college back into prison, and using it as a sturdy bridge to support reentry. And that many people caught up in the justice system and then barred from public housing can live there safely with their families without compromising the safety of other residents—and that welcoming them is the smart thing to do.
Issues
Spotlights
Featured
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Vera, which is guiding implementation of the largest public housing reentry pilot program in the country, is launching a national project to assist public housing authorities, community supervision agencies, and reentry service providers to work together to promote family reunification and successful reentry outcomes for formerly incarcerated peopl...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
Innovative Reentry Practices for Incarcerated People Coming Home
For an incarcerated person, leaving prison can be both exhilarating and overwhelming: freedom is finally palpable. But, for over 700,000 people leaving prisons and jails annually, the pressure of finding a home is an immediate and paramount strain. The mark of a past criminal record eliminates many housing possibilities precisely at the moment when...
Blog Post
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Kathleen Culhane
Making the Grade
Developing Quality Postsecondary Education Programs in Prison
With its July 2015 announcement of the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program, the U.S. Department of Education ushered in what could be a new era of expanded opportunities for postsecondary education in our nation’s prisons. The Second Chance Pell Pilot makes students incarcerated in state and federal prisons eligible for need-based financial aid in a l...
Related Work
Finding housing is hard—but for people leaving prison and jail, it’s almost impossible
We need to open doors for people reentering society, not shut them.
In recent years, however, there has been growing momentum to ease restrictions around housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. In 2017, Vera launched the Opening Doors to Public Housing initiative to expand access to housing for people with conviction histories. Now, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistan...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran
Opening Doors
Safely Increasing Access to Public Housing for People with Conviction Histories
For more than 600,000 people leaving prison and the nearly 11 million cycling through jails annually, research shows that safe, affordable housing is essential for them to succeed after they are released. While all public housing authorities (PHAs) must, by law, place lifetime exclusions on people who are lifetime-registered sex offenders or who ha...
Life in the Year After Prison
Prof. Bruce Western on Reentry
Professor Bruce Western talks about the issues formerly incarcerated people face upon reentry, the role of family support after prison, and how trauma challenges the ethics of punishment.
Series: Two Societies
Education: The Key to Equality
Vera recently led a five-year initiative in Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina—titled Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prion to Postsecondary Education—that provided direction, funding, and expert technical assistance to these states to build up college programs in their state prisons. Vera facilitated partnerships between departments of co...
Blog Post
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Lindsey Price Jackson
Prison Education Saved My Life and Stopped an Environmental Cycle of Incarceration
Toward the end of my confinement, I applied to the University of Maine at Augusta and was accepted for admission with the help of teachers at the prison. I saved enough money to pay for one three-credit correspondence college-level course in psychology and earned an A at the end of the semester. This success empowered me to find other higher-ed opp...
Blog Post
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Aaron T. Kinzel
Beyond Second Chance Month
Let's Renew Our Commitment to Support Formerly Incarcerated People Every Day
More than 600,000 Americans return home from prison each year across the country to rejoin society with a desire to rebuild their lives. Yet, too often we close doors to this entire population as they grapple with the challenges that come with reentering their communities. Through barriers to things like housing, education, and employment, a forme...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran
Safeguarding Justice
Vera Institute of Justice 12th Annual Gala
Safeguarding Justice
Highlights from Vera's 12th Annual Gala
#SecondChanceMonth is an Opportunity to Examine What Happens After Incarceration–and Make It Better
Welcoming people who are formerly-incarcerated home into our communities and providing them access to opportunities is the smart thing to do. Not only does it make communities safer, it creates the potential for the kinds of individual transformation that can spur community renewal and change the economic trajectories of entire families. Join us as...
Blog Post
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Vera Staff
New Report Highlights California’s Success in Expanding Access to College for Incarcerated People
And Shows the Rest of the Country How It Can Be Done
Today, California has more in-person postsecondary education programs—offered in 34 out of the state’s 35 prisons—than any other state in the nation. CDCR is offering higher education to nearly 4,500 incarcerated students. Programs that meet students outside the prison walls have expanded in correlation to inside programs, as more people who starte...
Blog Post
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Heather Erwin
Majority of Americans Say Voting Rights Should be Restored for People with Felony Convictions
Most Americans believe that people with conviction histories should have their voting rights restored as soon as they’ve completed their sentences, according to a new poll from YouGov/Huffington Post. A solid majority—63 percent—of those surveyed agreed that people with felony convictions should not be permanently barred from voting. This consensus...
Blog Post
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Karina Schroeder
Two Oscar-Nominated Films Show the Need for Compassionate Reentry and Diversion Programs
Human dignity—and the importance of providing hope and opportunity in the face of such challenges—also informs the story behind Knife Skills. Knife Skills documents the hectic days leading up to the opening of a new Cleveland-based French restaurant called Edwins. Edwins hires formerly incarcerated people and teaches them the very basics of French ...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran