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Program Supports Ex-Cons’ Reentry into SocietyEvery month, nearly 300 convicted felons are released into Alaskan communities and oftentimes, securing a job or a place to live stands in the way of successful rehabilitation.Related Content
Alaska's prison population is growing and just last week, the state introduced a new five-year plan designed to keep ex-cons from going back to jail.
Every month, nearly 300 convicted felons are released into Alaskan communities and oftentimes, securing a job or a place to live stands in the way of successful rehabilitation. Corrections officials claim the new plan will give former prisoners a real chance to become productive citizens. Marcy Martin, a peer coach and convicted felon, said, “Doors are constantly being slammed down in your face because you’re a felon,” and that employers are reluctant to hire convicted felons because they question the felon’s trustworthiness. It’s a tough road of redemption that many felons in Alaska are faced with after they are released. “After so many job rejections or applying for housing and you get rejected, it kind of feels like you have ‘felon’ written on your forehead,” said Venus Woods, a peer coach and convicted felon. It’s a stigma that pushes two out of three felons to make bad choices that put them back in jail “I've had to call the dope man sometimes where I've ended up back to the streets, right exactly back to the same lifestyle because there was nothing put in place so I can get proper support,” Martin said. Karen Neagle, a mentor coach for the Alaska Native Justice Center adult reentry program, said that convicted felons have lacked the support or the means to successfully reenter society. Neagle said, “it is hard to get a job, find a place,” when a person carries the label of “convict.” At the Anchorage jail, a bus drops off felons with the clothes on their back, leaving them with temptations and few options to succeed. Faced with few choices, Carmen Gutierrez, deputy commissioner of the prisoner rehabilitation and reentry program, said ex-cons either “go back to their old friends, which could lead them down a slippery slope, or go to Bean’s Café.” Ryan Chernikoff, a peer coach and convicted felon, said it wasn’t until he got support, was he able to avoid temptation. The new reintegration plan connects program workers and convicted felons with employers and landlords to give offenders a chance to succeed. “We've seen what happens when we discriminate and let people know, ‘look, you've already shown what you’re made of that's all you’re ever going to be,’” said Chernikoff. “For every individual who is successfully reintegrated back into his or her community, that means we have one less victim, we have healthier communities and healthier families,” said Gutierrez. Every prisoner in Alaska costs the state nearly $50,000 a year. The reentry program hopes to provide housing and occupational assistance as well as substance abuse help to convicted felons in transition. |
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Cinnamon Shingleton said on Thursday, Aug 30 at 1:40 PM
Maybe we should continue calling Carmen. If we continue to call at some point shes gonna have to answer. This is upsetting. This is only making it more dangerous for everyone. We need help.
100526966Adele Landroche said on Friday, Apr 20 at 10:33 AM
This "program" for convicted felons sounds good on paper. The reality is very different. The only agency that has tried to offer real help in the Returning Citizens program through Nine Star. Other than that, there are few resources for convicted felons trying to find employment and housing in Anchorage. Felons looking for help are sent from agency to agency, with no real leads. I attempted to contact Carmen Gutierrez who told me that she didn't have time to talk to me! My son is a convicted felon living at a halfway house and is looking for housing in Anchorage. He has hit wall after wall trying to find a place to live, but many landlords don't want to rent to a convicted felon. He has a good, stable job, is doing well and complying with all the requirements of his PO and the halfway house. What is the prognosis for someone like him, someone who wants to make the right choices, be financially responsible and to move on with his life?
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