Useful Rehabilitation

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Rich

I have to say that I am fairly proud of the State of Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in many ways. This may seem odd for someone who spends a great deal of time criticizing our nation’s legal system as punitive and draconian in nature, but some things have started to change.  Ohio is far ahead of much of the nation in moving closer to a more reasonable justice system.  Currently, we restore the right to vote to anyone not in prison.  That is not the case in many states.  In fact, some states remove the right to vote permanently after a felony conviction.  Our Governor, John Kasich, is a Christian man who believes in second chances and redemption.  He is a big supporter of reentry projects.  He has appointed a man named Gary Mohr to head the DRC, and some changes are starting to occur.

While Ohio may not be as progressive as some states, Mr. Mohr seems to be open to making changes that make sense.  Our reintegration centers are starting to prepare inmates for returning to society.  Faith dorms are one example of this theory.  This is not done out of some misplaced faith in religion, but rather on demonstrable fact.  Several studies have shown that those who participate in faith based programming on a regular basis are far less likely to recidivate.  It is in these dorms that much of the most progressive programming is being tested.  Inmates are permitted to learn to use computers and computer skills.  While they are not granted access to the internet, they are given tutorials in typing, Microsoft Office, and Quick Books.  These skills are essential to finding a decent job in today’s society.  Many prisoners have never used a computer in their life if they have been locked up for any significant period of time.

States like California go even further.  They permit the teaching of computer programming skills through coding bootcamps.  This is not easy when they have no internet access, so a system had to be created on an intranet.  There is such a demand for these skills right now, that many software companies do not care about someone’s criminal record but only about how well they can code.  These are high paying jobs that can give a returning citizen a real chance at a normal life.  There is no reason that this could not be done here in Ohio.  I would like to see this tested in the faith dorms here to see if it works out.  The same model could be used for other skills, as well.  The trades are desperate for new apprentices, so why couldn’t a local union set up an apprenticeship program inside the walls too?  These are also high paying jobs that typically do not care about a person’s criminal background.  For some reason, probably budgetary, prisons have moved away from training inmates for employment, but if we are serious about reentry programs being successful, we need to institute programs that will enable prisoner to have an employable skillset.  One example that would be simple to introduce would be to reopen prison farms.  Farming is in desperate need of new trained farmers.  The prison farms could teach these skills while supplying many of the prisons with the food they grow.  This would actually reduce costs to the prison system while teaching a valuable and in-demand skill. These common sense changes could reduce recidivism, which would also reduce costs in the long run.

Hopefully, Comprehensive Reentry can be a catalyst to help the Ohio DRC to adopt some common sense changes.  In addition to this project, we would like to help facilitate a coding program in a local prison reintegration center’s faith dorm.  We would track the graduates in scientific way to determine whether they return to prison or successfully find employment and actually reintegrate.  If this model proves successful, we would like to extend it to other prisons across the state.

The Giving Season and a New Reentry Model

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Rich
    

I have long felt that the ex-offender community needs to follow examples often seen in immigrant groups from our nation’s past. I was sitting in a political science class a while back, and we were discussing the Chinese model of immigration. When they first arrived, the Chinese were welcomed and found abundant jobs in the mining and railroad industry in the American West. The nation then went into a financial downturn, and the welcome mat was pulled out from underneath their feet. The doors were closed due to a policy known as the Exclusionary Acts. The Chinese were then barred from participating in the economy in the way they had. This presented a huge problem for them not dissimilar to the plight faced by many ex-offenders.
The Chinese resolved their issue by banding together. They pooled what money they had and supported one another. They also made an astute observation. The American West was devoid of women, so they noticed a need for restaurants and laundries. They pooled their money and started businesses. They hired on another, and they expanded. They still dominate these industries today. There is absolutely no reason that ex-offenders can’t follow this same entrepreneurial model. The problem is that many ex-offenders do not have any money at all. Many struggle with homelessness and hunger. Many, however, have succeeded in reintegration and are in a possession to share. In addition, there is a growing interest in solving the reentry problem, so perhaps outside help in the form of an accelerator will be forthcoming. It is important to remember that if enough ex-offenders gather together to accomplish this task, even a small amount of money from each participant could accomplish great things.
The next step would be to seek out voids in the economy where there is an increasing need for labor but not enough help. Right off the bat I can think of three: lawn care, the trades, and computer coding. The last two pay a significant amount of money. Starting businesses in these areas will, of course, require training, but training is available. In many cases, the training is available for free to ex-offenders through programs.
Caring about others who suffer the same fate you have suffered from is sometimes difficult to do, because it is human nature to turn your back on the negative parts of your past. If things are ever going to change, it is important to take positive steps to do just that. This is the season where caring about other humans who are suffering is brought to the forefront. If you are an ex-offender who has managed to successfully reintegrate, please us this time to think of your brothers and sisters who are either not as fortunate or are just starting to climb the mountain. Even if you have no extra money to give, you can always give time. You can volunteer to distribute meals to the homeless or shut-ins. You can volunteer at a halfway house or some other nonprofit that helps with reentry. This season is all about giving. It is not about us and our selfishness. Someone helped you along the way, so please take the time to help someone else. I will be taking a break from writing for a few weeks to celebrate and donate my time, so have a Merry Christmas and we’ll talk again soon.
-Rich

GOING OFF ROAD: The link between terrorism and the green economy.

 

By Rich Alvarez
Disclaimer: This week I feel compelled to veer a little off the usual topic matter in light of the recent terror attacks both in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as it being the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.  The normal reentry theme will resume next week.  I want to preface this by letting you know this is an opinion piece by a regular guy.  I’m not political or history expert, but I am an avid buff and a former Political Science major.  I realize that there will be those who disagree with me, but I hope it doesn’t dissuade you from reading my blog in the future or utilizing my site if you need it.  It is just an opinion after all.
First of all, I want to say that I give all of the victims of the attacks and their families my thoughts and prayers.  I also want to say that I condemn anyone who kills innocent victims and uses a religion to justify their actions.  There is no justification for taking the lives of innocents.  With that being said, it may surprise some of you, given my work, that my political leanings are often conservative.  I agree with many of the positions of conservative leadership like more personal freedom and less government interference, support of law enforcement, the second amendment, capitalism, reduced taxes and a strong military.  On other topics, I tend to be more liberal.  I am against the death penalty, am pro criminal justice reform, believe in helping the less fortunate, believe in anthropogenic caused global warming, and support the legalization of marijuana.  One of the most important points that I support is the pursuit of strict anti-fossil fuel laws for several reasons.  Of course I like clean air, and I want to stop global warming, but I am more concerned with energy independence from a national security standpoint.  You might ask how this ties into terrorism?  Well, I’ll tell you, and no, it doesn’t follow Bernie Sanders’ logic.
While the President and Mr. Sanders are correct that if we don’t stop global warming, our children will be unable to enjoy living by the coast, and our military and police will be tied up dealing with these catastrophic changes at home, that is not the primary reason for my concern.  I believe dependence on foreign oil is key to the current terrorism concerns we are experiencing.  In order to understand this, we must first understand a little bit about the Middle East.  The West has a long and not-so-proud history in the Arab world, which started with English colonization during the heyday of the British Empire.  The British had little understanding of the cultural differences among the people in the nations they conquered, and I doubt they cared.  The people of the Middle East were largely tribal and nomadic.  There were also cultural, ethnic, and religious differences.  When the British drew national boundaries, they did so without regard to the differences, which resulted in splitting up some groups and bringing together others that hated one another.  Because they ruled with an iron fist, these groups appeared, at least on the surface, to get along.  As an example, Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam are very different and can’t stand each other.  If left to their own devices they would have chosen to live separately or kill each other.  In Iraq for example, the Shiite were the majority, but the Sunni dominated the capital city of Baghdad.  Oil was also discovered in many of these nations, which helped fuel the industrial revolution and brought great riches to those who controlled the wells.  Therefore, the West had great interest in the Middle East.
When the British left, they often supported iron fisted dictators who could hold the nations together, as opposed to fostering democracies.  These dictators controlled the oil wells and enriched themselves instead of sharing it with the people who lived in utter poverty and under abusive regimes.  Western nations continued to meddle in the affairs of these countries to ensure continual access to the oil that fueled their economies.  If a dictator got out of line, they fostered a revolution so another, more favorable, leader could take over.  If the people became restless and wanted to revolt, they would funnel better weapons and more money to the dictator to prop him up.  Our addiction to fossil fuels fostered oppression and abuse of the people of the Middle East, so we could keep driving our cars.  A resentment toward the United States and other Western nations grew.  It grew even more, when after WWII, we established the state of Israel.  While no one disputes that the Jews were abused and deserved a homeland, it displaced many Arab peoples and put them in the middle of their arch enemies.  The United States supported the new Jewish state by providing them with advanced weaponry and money, which was used against the Middle Easterners in that region.
Things really began to change in the 1970’s when radical Shiite Muslims ousted the American-supported Sha of Iran.  This resulted in the taking of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy.  There were also a rash of anti-American terrorist incidents including the downing of a Pan Am airline by Libyan supported terrorists and the killing of Jewish athletes at the Olympics.  We have continued to meddle in the affairs of the Middle East, and we support one side or the other depending on who seems to support our interests at the time.  The problem with that is that we give little thought to the long-term consequences.  One example was the horrible decision to invade Iraq after 9/11.  Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks, and Bush had a personal grudge to settle, because Saddam Hussein had tried to have his family assassinated.  We tried to install a democratic government, and when we did, they threw American forces out of their country.  It subsequently descended into chaos. The current example is ISIS.  The Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad, is vehemently anti-American, and is abusive to his people.  The U.S. has wanted to get rid of him for some time, and the Arab Spring, which overthrew several Middle Eastern dictators, provided the opportunity.  Like Egypt and Libya, the Syrian people rose up against their oppressor.  The United States supported this, thinking it would result in democracies in the their place.  Libya fell apart and the Egyptian government that resulted was just as, if not more oppressive, than the one they overthrew.  In fact, it was primarily composed of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the oldest Islamic terrorist groups in the world.  They oppressed women and killed anyone who did not adhere to their strict version of Islam. President Obama supported this government with money and weapons, but the Egyptian military finally overthrew them and re-established order.  Assad did not go so easily as these other two examples.
Assad cracked down on the rebels and used chemical weapons on them.  A prolonged civil war has ensued and hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.  Furthermore, millions of Syrians have fled their homes and headed for Europe.  The United States supported the Syrian rebels and gave them weapons to fight the regime.  Most of these rebels were Sunnis, while Assad is Shiite.  One of the groups we, and other Sunni Arab nations have supported, was ISIS.  ISIS grew strong, but they got bigger than we could control.  They exploited the chaos in Syria and Iraq and carved out a nation of their own in these two countries.  The crazy part is that the Sunni groups we have given support to are either sympathetic to or member of the same people we have been fighting in other areas like Afghanistan and Iraq.  They hate us but have no problem taking our weapons and money.  To make matters worse, the Assad regime is sponsored by two of our enemies, Russian and Iran.  Oh what a tangled web we weave.
All of this comes down to our dependence on oil.  We are embroiled in all of these conflicts because we want their oil.  We have supported regimes that oppress and kill the people of that region, and we have killed many ourselves.  It is little wonder that they hate us.  The answer is really simple.  We could solve 90 percent of the Muslim terrorist problem with the United States by extricating ourselves from the Middle East by becoming less foreign oil dependent.  Developing green technologies and using our own shale oil in the meantime is the best way to reduce terrorism against the United States.  We will still have periodic problems due to our support of Israel, but we can resolve the majority of the issue by this simple policy shift.  This is where I diverge from my Republican friends.  While they may deny climate change and resist green technology, they do have an interest in national security.  Green energy and domestic oil production as a national security tool could be a way to bridge the differences between Democrats and Republicans who are diametrically opposed on so many issues today.G

Gratitude

Excerpt from http://comprehensivereentry.org/executive-directors-blog-2/

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Rich
    

With the Thanksgiving week concluded, we often slip into some old habits.  An attitude of gratitude involves daily practice.  It will change your paradigm on life.  It is often difficult to remember to be grateful when we experience so many of the difficulties that can accompany the reentry process.  We experience doubt from family members, rejection and discrimination from employers, more discrimination from society in general, and if we suffer from addictions, more doubt from family members.  The holiday season can be especially rough.  It is often difficult to be positive or feel the holiday spirit when you can’t even find a job or housing.  How do we remain grateful in the face of such adversity?

I can only tell you what works for me.  First, I surround myself with positive and supportive people.  Who you hangout with can make all the difference in the world.  If you suffer from addictions, don’t neglect your program.  Support groups are loaded with positive people.  Hang out with the winners too, and ignore the losers.  Next, I suggest finding a good church.  God in my life made all the difference.  Without God, we are often without hope.  He will sustain you in the long run when you are feeling all alone.  Even if you aren’t into church, find a spiritual activity that you can get into.  Maintaining our spiritual health is key to maintaining a positive attitude, and in America, we often forget or don’t place enough importance on our spirit.  I also highly recommend exercise.  Even if you just get out and walk, the fresh air and pumping blood will increase your endorphins, which naturally elevate your mood.  Physical health and spiritual health go hand in hand.  The last part of the triangle is your mental health.  We should never quit learning.  Get enrolled in school, trade school, or even just take a free class on-line or at the library.  Learn something new and stretch your mind.  It helps take your mind off your troubles. It keeps you sharp.  Your brain is a muscle, and it needs to be exercised.  I also recommend the following simple mental exercise.  Every night of the week prior to going to bed, think about three things you are grateful for.  Do this every night for one week and do not repeat any of the same things.  It is harder than you think.  At the end of the week, you will be amazed at the change in how you view the world and your circumstances.

The last thing I would say to you is to never give up!  If you’ve put in one hundred job applications and not received a call back, put in 110.  If you’ve gone to twenty interviews, go to more.  Approach life with a problem solving mindset.  As life throws you obstacles, and it will, think about various solutions to that problem, meditate or pray on the solutions, and choose the one that you think will lead to the best answer.  If you are not getting any calls back on job applications for example, try to figure out what you could do better to  help overcome that.  Do you need to tweak your resume?  Then, go to a resume writing class.  The state offers them for free through unemployment or you can look them up on line.  Have you ever attended a workforce development class or gone to a networking group?  If not, look into it.  Do you need to gain more education?  Enroll in some classes.  Take constructive steps to overcoming your obstacles and don’t give up.  You can do it!  Have you ever thought of starting your own business?  This is a good way to bypass many of the obstacles.  Look into the feasibility of going into business for yourself.  Who says you can’t do that?  Don’t listen to them if they are telling you that.  Remember, obstacles and failures are just life’s lessons to be learned from and overcome.  Keep moving forward and don’t forget that no one ever accomplished much from sitting on the couch and wishing things were better.  Dreams without action are just dreams.  You can’t grow unless you reach outside your comfort zone and try.

Good luck,
-Rich

 

The Real Cost of a Felony Conviction

Excerpt from www.comprehensivereentry.org

November 24, 2015

By Rich Alvarez

Most of us think of a felony conviction as primarily affecting the individual and the justice system.  These things are both, of course, true, but the price is actually much higher.  Let us first deal with the cost of a mistake like this on the justice system.  First, we have the victim.  Beyond the simple cost of things stolen or medical bills, there is the toll on one’s psyche and piece of mind.  This aspect must never be forgotten in any discussion about the effects of crime on society, and they should be of primary importance.  This price is one of the main reasons we, as a society, take on the social responsibility of a criminal justice system that seeks to remunerate victims of crime and to hopefully prevent further criminal behavior from the offender.  The cost of this social responsibility is quite extensive.  Think of all of the police officers, probations officers, correctional personnel, judges, clerks, lawyers, etc. that are employed to carry out this function to the tune of billions of dollars.  In addition, the cost of constructing prisons is in the billions, as well.  It really is an industry.  In addition to these costs, the offender and his/her family pay extensively, as well.  Oftentimes, prisoners are housed over 100 miles from their family, which makes visitation costly, if not impossible.  The prisoner loses productive years of their life, which could be spent earning a living and contributing to society.  The person accused of a crime, or his family, or society must bear the cost of legal representation, as well.  This can add up to tens of thousands of dollars.  There is an emotional and mental toll that can take the form of depression or PTSD if the experience includes physical or sexual assault, which is all too common in our prisons.  These are the obvious costs of criminal activity, but we bear them because the alternative is chaos.
However, America is quite different from much of the rest of the civilized world.  We have turned to the criminal justice system to solve too many of our societal ills.  We simply criminalize things we don’t like instead of trying to fix the root causes of these ills.  This has resulted in the U.S. having a larger portion of its populace incarcerated than any other nation on Earth.  Furthermore, we have moved away from our Christian roots and the concept of forgiveness and rehabilitation to a much more punitive approach to justice.  We have set up our criminal justice system as primarily a punitive system that seeks retribution for wrongs rather than working to get to the bottom of causes for criminal behavior.  This is exemplified in our clinging to the death penalty, despite knowing that innocent people do make it to death row, and our total disregard to the fate of our imprisoned citizens.  We have taken it to the extent that punishment doesn’t end with the completion of a sentence either.  It often continues on for the rest of a convicted persons life in the form of employment, housing, voting rights, and educational assistance denied.  Our prisons often take first time offenders and turn them into more hardened criminals.  This is very different from many other nations, especially Scandinavian countries where rehabilitation is the primary objective.  I find this punitive attitude to be intellectually lazy and socially unjust.  It is myopic to ignore the consequences of this punitive approach, as well.
The FBI estimates that one in three Americans have a criminal record of some sort.  The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimates that about one in fifteen adults and one in eight men of working age are ex-felons.  They estimate that are there about 12.3 to 13.9 million ex-felons in the United States, and each of them likely experience the continued punitive repercussions of our system of justice.  This means that they are likely either unemployed or underemployed, and this has a tremendous financial cost, as well.  The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimates the loss in terms of our GDP between $57 and $65 billion dollars in lost output.  Think about how much more efficient we would be as a country if these people were fully employed.  So, if you don’t really care about the human cost to ex-offenders, and you possess no empathy for their plight, perhaps you can look at the real cost in dollars to our economy.  Continuing to pursue a punitive criminal justice policy, as opposed to a rehabilitative policy, is not only unjust, it makes no economic sense whatsoever.  In addition, it flies in the face of a nation that supposedly believes in freedom and second chances.  Are we just paying lip service to those ideals or are we going to do something about it?
-Rich

Don’t Be Part of the Problem

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Rich

November 23, 2015
By Rich Alvarez

As we enter this Thanksgiving week, I think we should all take a look inward and examine our level of gratitude.  In our nation, so many of us complain about every little thing that doesn’t go our way.  We have more materially than any nation on Earth, yet we tend to be one of the most miserable.  We are often self-absorbed and feel we are entitled to be happy.  Happiness is actually a state of being.  It comes from within and not from what we have.  No person and no thing can make us happy for any extended period of time.  I’ve found that learning to practice an attitude of gratitude is the cure to unhappiness.
So, what do I mean by an attitude of gratitude?  It starts by realizing that no matter how bad we think we have it, someone else is inevitable worse off.  Most of us have food, shelter, and means to get around.  Think about those born with severe disabilities who can’t get around without help.  Think about those born in countries where they have no idea where their next meal is coming from and don’t have access to something as basic as clean water.  Think about a person who was wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to die.   After you picture these things in your head, make a list of three things you are grateful for.  Do this for one week, and you are not allowed to repeat any items.  This exercise is much more difficult than it seems.  By the end of the week, I think you will find that your entire outlook has changed.  When you find yourself in an unhappy state or prolonged funk, repeat the exercise.
When we keep this attitude in mind, the phrase, “But for the grace of God go I,” takes on new meaning.  We realize that we are one misstep or unfortunate event away from a whole different existence.  When we look at others who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances, it becomes easier to put ourselves in their shoes.  With this realization in mind, I implore you not to judge others by the labels that society places upon them.  These labels are frequently based on their unfortunate circumstances rather than who they are as a person.  Take the time to think about how they must feel by being labeled that way.  If you own a business, please think about this during the hiring process.  A decision to give someone in unfortunate circumstances a chance at a job can change their entire life.  It can also change the labels that get applied to them by society.   Have a great Thanksgiving!
-Rich

Why I Started Comprehensive Reentry, Inc.

November 23, 2015

By Rich Alvarez


     In my last post, I told the reader a little bit about my story.  I explained that part of my life so that the reader can begin to understand my motivation for doing something like this.  I received a good deal of mercy from the justice system in many ways.  I could have been sent to prison for twenty years, but I received probation instead.  That doesn't mean that I didn't, and don't, experience the same obstacles in areas like employment, among others, that returning citizens face.  In fact, one third of American citizens have a criminal record of some sort.  In Ohio 50,000 people are in prison at any given time and about 20,000 are released every year.  About 5,000 of those returning citizens come back to Cuyahoga County, but almost one third go back within three years.  Those 1,300 or so that return cost the taxpayers of the state over three million dollars a year, and the prison system itself costs billions.  It almost seems like an intentional industry.  We arrest them, we extort a plea bargain or send them to prison, we discriminate against them in employment, voting rights, housing, and school aid, and we send them right back to prison at a cost of billions.  Lost among all of this are real people with real feelings who matter.  They just keep getting recycled through the grinder.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that criminals shouldn't pay for their crimes.  I'm saying that we proclaim to be a nation of second chances, but we act very differently.  We need to do a better job of reintegrating those who have paid for their crimes back into society.  It would save us billions and add productivity to our nation's struggling economy.  It was in this context that I felt motivated to help.

     I made use of many of the services available to me by the system in place.  I used recovery services, mental health services, and I went through a couple of workforce development programs until I found someone who was willing to hire me back into the workforce.  In this experience, I noticed many good people and good ideas, but I also noticed many deficiencies.  The sheer number of agencies seemed daunting.  Who should I go to for help?  There was no real on-line service that listed all of the reentry services in my area.  Many of the agencies listed were no longer in business.   I also noticed that, while many agencies offered workforce development, few offered placement.  No one offered a list of employers who would hire ex-offenders, and no one had a job board or employment software geared toward ex-offenders.  I also noticed that many agencies were set-up to help those returning from prison, but most of them were not set-up to help those who simply had a conviction and might be facing obstacles.  If a white collar person found themselves with a conviction, but they didn't need the typical remedial workforce development training that was being offered to most ex-offenders, they had nowhere to turn.  Most agencies that offer placement also require that you complete their course, which can last up to a month, which may not be possible for someone in dire straits who needs immediate employment.  As a former police officer, I knew that the vast majority of cases ended in a plea bargain and probation.  Given this fact, it made me realize that the existing reentry programs barely touch the tip of the iceberg.  What is the cost of unemployment due to legal discrimination against those with convictions?  What is the cost of under-employment due to this same factor, since only certain job sectors seem to be willing to hire them?  How much does this contribute to the overall crime rate?  How much more does this tax assistance programs like welfare, food stamps, and public housing?  It seemed to me that this discrimination had broader effects than we, as a society, may even realize.  Due to the size of the problem, it also seems that current reentry programs, while helpful to some, may be missing a very large portion of those affected.  That's why I decided to launch Comprehensive Reentry.  While it is currently only an informational and advocacy site, the goal is to create a job search resource that caters to those with criminal convictions.  This may seem odd to some, but given the problem spelled out earlier, I think it makes great economic sense.  I hope to develop it into a model to use around the country to help those with barriers to employment to find meaningful full-time work in order to become productive citizens that are fully integrated into society.  I hope you will join me on the journey.  The federal government is about to release 6,000 prisoners in the next few weeks.  Is your employer or business going to do anything to help ensure they don't get recycled through the meat grinder?  Please contact us if you want to help.  Our website is https://www.comprehensivereentry.org.

Thanks,

Richard E. Alvarez