There are some disillusioned people out there that believe that Federal Inmates re-entering society have somehow hit the benefit jackpot. That could not be further from the truth. There are several organizations out there, even grants and programs, for state inmates, provided for by individual states.
For example, one of the most succesful re-entry organizations on the East Coast is “Operation New Hope” out of Jacksonville Florida. New Hope has several career readiness programs, and then helps inmates who are re-entering society directly secure those jobs.
When a Federal inmate leaves their “in prison” sentence they often go to a halfway house run by one of three organizations, Dismas Charities, Volunteers of America, and the Salvation Army. All three organizations promise a treasure trove of prorgrams and opportunities, but outside of “TDAP” (a post incarceration follow up program for RDAP) programming is actually few and far between.
Most of the halfway houses have pre-established relationships with some of the bigger employers in the area. But for some reason if you are unable to work for that employer, the re-entering inmate is often times forced to find their own job, which in itself can be a headache.
When an inmate finds a job outside of the partner companies, they’re subjected to rigorous hurdles like regular visits from the halfway house, multiple calls per day and unrealistic expectations in situations where they are asked to work late.
But After The Halfway House
After the halfway house it doesn’t get any easier, expecially if the inmate has a drug charge. In fact, the world works against you. Many inmates re-entering society typically need actual government assistance until they can get on their feet. However, programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or snap), automatically disqualifies anyone who has a felony drug charge from assistance. The felony charge also makes it nearly impossible to secure section 8 housing.
In the original video that was posted by Brett Booker, the commenter made reference to all of these imaginary benefits. One of those benefits was “free healtcare”, well under Obama Care just about everyone qualifies for free healthcare. There is one benefit for re-entering inmates though, and that is that leaving prison is a life changing event that does allow you to start healthcare through the portal, almost immediately.
Outside of that, there are resources out there but most BOP institutions gave up on “re-entry” centers during covid.
Job bulletin boards for “hiring felons” like honestjobs.com are a joke. In looking for even a part time “W2” position I’ve applied for nearly 350 jobs across Indeed, Ziprecruiter ,and even honestjobs.com, and gone on a bunch of interviews, but so far, nothing.
That’s why it’s so important if you have a good support system at home that you have them start sourcing info on programs for federal inmates as soon as you have a date.
For more information or if you think you may need a prison consutant, please email info@federalprisontips.com or call 407-735-6995
