Reflections from a community re-entry program

Persons who have been formerly incarcerated experience higher rates of housing instability, unemployment, substance use disorders, and mental health conditions than those who have not (Elder et al., 2025, Gonzalez et al., 2023). In 2023, 1.2 million people were incarcerated in the United States (Mueller, 2024). More than two-thirds will experience recidivism within 3 years of re-entering the community (Zgoba et al., 2020).