Our Initiatives
Foundation of Initiatives
MARC provides people already working in the MS prison system, as well as returning citizens, with the tools needed to initiate an effective and long-term prison reentry program.
Reentry is a complex topic with many challenges, and the range of challenges that face an individual during the reentry process is broad. Here are some of the needs which we try to keep in mind during our work;
- Employment
- Mental and Physical Health
- Housing stability
- Social support systems
- Additional needs (such as transportation, food, clothing, child care, bank accounts, identification, etc;)
More information concerning these needs and research connected to them can be found in this paper overviewing various evidenced based practices and programs.
In order to try to account for these needs we have several guiding principles for our reentry program derived from the Department of Justice’s Roadmap to Reentry (emphasis own).
- Principle I: Upon incarceration, every inmate should be provided an individualized reentry plan tailored to his or her risk of recidivism and programmatic needs.
- Principle II: While incarcerated, each inmate should be provided education, employment training, life skills, substance abuse, mental health, and other programs that target their criminogenic needs and maximize their likelihood of success upon release.
- Principle III: While incarcerated, each inmate should be provided the resources and opportunity to build and maintain family relationships, strengthening the support system available to them upon release.
- Principle IV: During transition back to the community, halfway houses and supervised release programs should ensure individualized continuity of care for returning citizens.
- Principle V: Before leaving custody, every person should be provided comprehensive reentry-related information and access to resources necessary to succeed in the community.
Based upon these principles, we offer Courses as well as have other Additional Volunteer Efforts to address these needs.
While we cannot address every need ourselves, we are seeking to build a network or resources, organizations, and volunteers to help support these ends as well as support policies that keep these principles in mind. Please see our resources page to learn more about other resources helping to meet these needs. We also are curating and maintaining a reading library to stay informed and provide perspective for programs and proposes policy changes.