The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Virus adds challenges for newly released prisoners
Organizations that help them re-enter society are shifting into new territory to provide aid
With thousands of Connecticut inmates re-entering society during the coronavirus pandemic, organizations that help steer those returning citizens to housing or employment — crucial factors in preventing recidivism — are shifting into new territory to provide aid.
The state’s incarcerated population reached historic lows during COVID-19. As of Sept. 1, there were 9,545 people behind bars, a 23 percent decrease from March 1.
Connecticut’s prison population peaked at 19,894 people in February 2008. During the pandemic, it dropped to half that amount, a benchmark for national groups like #Cut50, which push for states to halve the number of people behind bars.
For the last seven months, social distancing and other safety measures have challenged the way advocates typically connect returning citizens with services that are critical to their success. Gone are the bustling job fairs and in-classroom learning sessions that were regarded as key measures in helping those people find places to live and work.
To cope with the new normal, advocates are acquiring more funds to pay for security deposits and other rental assistance. Job fairs have gone virtual, along with programs that teach resume writing and interview skills. And as the definition of “essential worker” has changed, so has the analysis of what jobs are best suited to people recently released from prison.
While the pandemic has posed extraordinary obstacles, some advocates say their new methods could continue in a post-COVID-19 world. Groups that previously hadn’t worked together are collaborating, and additional money has been
directed toward housing and employment efforts.
“It’s been a crazy time, but some positive things have come out of this, like stronger collaborations and just making sure that folks who are discharged are not homeless,” said Sue Gunderman, interim director of re-entry services for the city of Hartford. “Where do we go from here and how can we best provide opportunities for these individuals who need a second chance? We’re still in the investigative part of that.”
Employment efforts turn digital
Just weeks after she was released from prison, Tara Buchholz found herself searching for a steady job in the middle of a deadly pandemic.
Buchholz was released in February after serving three years on charges of theft and walking away from a halfway house. She sent resumes out in March, even as businesses closed down and hundreds of thousands of people across the state lost their jobs.
“I was anxiety ridden, for sure. For a while there, nobody was hiring,” she recalled. “And what was out there – I certainly didn’t have the qualifications for, and having my felony background did not help me at all.”
Buchholz joined a program through a Bridgeport nonprofit that helps returning citizens prepare to re-enter the workforce. The initiative – run by The Workplace Inc. – teaches participants interview techniques and time management, among other skills, and connects them with employers.
Buchholz started working full-time as a quality assurance technician for
Something Sweet, a bakery company in New Haven, last spring while completing The Workplace’s five-week program. Upon graduation, the company offered her a permanent spot.
“I’m so grateful,” she said. “It’s a relief just knowing I have a stable job that is helping me to move on with my life and putting me in good standing with society.”
Thousands of people who are released from prison in Connecticut every year rely on these programs to help them prepare for and secure employment. Without steady work, formerly incarcerated people are more likely to reoffend.
But as the pandemic hit, leaders of these efforts had to quickly shift gears. The Workplace handed out laptops to participants and brought its program – which teaches time management and interview skills, among other things – online.
“We had to really transform our system,” said Joseph Carbone, president and CEO of The Workplace. “Obviously, you can’t have any classroom activity.” Participants were mostly adept at the technology, he said, and job placements have continued during the pandemic.
Part of navigating the volatile job market involves looking for fields that still are hiring. People in the program have gone on to work in automotive repair, the food service industry, construction, shipping services and medical offices, among other areas.
The pandemic’s massive toll on the workforce caused some setbacks, however. Twelve participants who had found jobs in the hospitality sector lost them as businesses closed and people stayed home. A few have gone back to work as the companies reopened, and The Workplace has connected others with new employment.
“We’re never going to stop working,” Carbone said. Participants “have a person here who every step of the way will know what you’re doing, someone you can get to when you need to discuss your problem.”
Leaders of other programs have also moved classes and other services online – and via phone.
At re-entry centers across the state – stationed in many urban centers – staff have been connecting returning citizens with resources primarily by phone, though some socially distant appointments have continued. In Hartford, Gunderman said the center was closed to walk-ins for months, but its staff still met with end-of-sentence people who were dropped off near city hall.
Career services through Goodwill and other nonprofits that the re-entry center partners with have gone virtual, she said. Several organizations have secured funding to purchase smartphones (along with the minutes needed to use them) and other equipment for those who are newly released and seeking employment.
Still, the pandemic has been difficult for people without digital skills. For inmates coming out of long sentences, the leap to new technology can be more onerous.
“This ‘new normal’ has really impacted people trying to find employment, trying to get connected to support,” Gunderman said. “And if the individual doesn’t have really good computer skills or knowledge of how to access things, it’s an even greater challenge.”
Rob Hebert, senior vice president for Career Re
sources, a workforce development agency in Bridgeport, said his organization had to pause employment efforts at the height of the pandemic. Job interviews resumed recently, though people in the program are only going out for scheduled meetings, rather than to drop off resumes as they did before COVID-19. The application process has moved online.
Hebert also oversees business services for the American Job Center in Connecticut, which arranges employment fairs for people with criminal records. Fairs that had been scheduled in Waterbury, Norwalk and Bridgeport last spring were held via Zoom this year. The
job center also hosted virtual “drop-in” sessions, where people could get their resumes critiqued, and “employer spotlight” videos with business owners. In the videos, employers talked about the culture of their companies and opportunities for advancement.
“We’ve just tried to help however we could, because this affected everybody,” Hebert said.
More funding for housing
Finding housing is always hard for people returning from prison, but it’s gotten more difficult during the pandemic.
Shelters and transitional housing programs aren’t accepting new intakes
because of the virus, and landlords are often hesitant to rent to people who have been convicted of a crime. In some cases, relatives of returning citizens are struggling with lost wages.
“Family members are less willing to take folks in, or have their own challenges – not to mention many family members are facing the potential loss of housing themselves,” said Richard Cho, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.
Since the onset of COVID-19, advocates for the homeless have acquired $ 2.1 million in federal, state and philanthropic funds to help people leaving prison or jail find a place to live.