Rejoining society doesn’t end upon release from jail or prison, in fact it’s only just begun.
One nonprofit group, Hope for Prisoners, helps people exiting prison through all stages of reintegration and helps to develop employable skills and take on leadership roles within their families, workplaces, and communities.
Hope for Prisoners was founded by Jon Ponder, a man who served time and used his experience to help others. “I was the guy who was coming in and out of the system for a very long time,” he tells Stand Together.
Until he had an epiphany.
Ponder began creating programs that help prepare people for reentry, which starts working within prisons to help change the culture into one that stimulates growth and learning.
“We go in and teach people how to interact with each other in team building exercises — to interact with people of another race or with someone who has been a lifelong gang member — to really address trauma, heal the damage from the past and then help them to transition out,” Ponder says.
The group also focuses on long-term support, and provides reentry services 18 months before release and up to 18 months after. It’s working, because Hope for Prisoners clients have one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country.
There is also leadership training with the goal being to give formerly incarcerated people the tools they need to become community leaders.
There are mentorships to learn how to follow community safety and rules.
The results have been formerly incarcerated people growing and learning and doing community service projects and getting to know each other outside of prison.
