Parker: Invest in education to eliminate need for re-entry
Wish Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora owned a forked tongue or had verbal skills that allowed speaking fromboth sides of his mouth.
Worthy politicians should list verbal ambidexterity and mental multitasking as keys to success. Double-mindedness does not necessarily reflect ambiguity.
ayor Gusciora deserves recognition for understanding issues faced by people returning home after incarceration.
Gusciora announced the Office of Returning Citizens, or ORC, to help formerly incarcerated residents with employment opportunities and housing.
The City established partnerships with both the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center in Trenton and the Fresh Start program hosted by the Trenton Free Public Library.
“With current state legislation set to release up to 3,000 inmates early due to COVID-19 and the possibility that millions of dollars will be cut from parole programs in the state budget, I’m thankful that our Office of Returning Citizens has been in the works for a long time,” Gusciora said in a release.
“Now is the perfect opportunity to show that new hiring processes and a long-termpartnership between the city, county, state and business community can help give those returning from incarceration a real shot at redemption,” he said.
Gusciora made a perfect pitch for ORC although he missed on an opportunity for the ultimate sell of education.
Discussions about incarceration and reentry should always include insights regarding education.
If most people in prison do not own high school diplomas, college degrees or even a GED, then education sounds like a difference maker.
If most people trapped by incarceration show low literacy ability then education seems important.
So, finding solutions to education malfunction and learning interruption offers a valuable starting point for social rehabilitation.
Conversations about incarceration and reentry can and should occur simultaneously with talks about education.
While we continue offering opportunities and second chances to deserving residents returning after incarceration, our focus must target developing a productive education system that attracts students, eliminates truancy and eradicates dropping out of school. If we stop entry then there will be no need for reentry programs.
Tracey Syphax, an ex-con who found success after incarceration, offered these views.
“When we do re-entry right, we not only reduce crime, we make our communities safer and reunite families,” said Syphax, author and CEO of From the Block to the Boardroom, said.
“The lack of economic opportunities and few employment options make re-entrants feel helpless,” he said.
Syphax believes most citizens returning home from prison resort to crime because of limited options.
Syphax said “Collaborations like (ORC and Fresh Start) with wrap-around services, provide support and an infrastructure that creates alternative pathways to economic opportunity.”
Still, education, which includes learning a trade, lists as the better path than incarceration followed by reentry efforts.
Building a better Trenton requires construction of a K-12 education system.
Education. Education. Education.