Nonprofit encounters challenges assisting former inmates

Multiple challenges present themselves when organizations try, to help convicted felons reenter society, according to Cristy Harris, the executive director of Prevail of Illinois, a group that seeks to help people who need financial assistance, according to its website.

The organization has programs to help with people find jobs, create stable financial plans and provides emergency services for those in need, according to the website.

Harris said that sometimes the reentry cases are more difficult to handle than others.



“Difficult to handle from the standpoint that they may be facing more complications. There may be more obstacles they have to face because of the record they are carrying with them,” she said.

Although Prevail of Illinois does not specialize in reentry services, Harris said that former inmates seeking assistance is common.

“We generally have several individuals come in every week who have just immediately been released from prison or have been out for some period of time,” she said.

One of the difficulties helping ex-convicts reenter society is their lack of identification after leaving a correctional facility, according to Harris.

“One of the first things that people usually need help with is reinstating all their forms of identification,” she said.

If a family member doesn't come and gather an inmate’s belongings the state will destroy them because it doesn't have room to store them, she said. Obtaining that identification is difficult after an individual is released because often times a person who an inmate was living with has moved on and relationships are transient, she said.

This makes birth certificates and state residency difficult to prove, thus making job access and residencies challenging to arrange, she said.

Another problem former inmates face after incarceration is finding a job and a place to live. Some of the burdens and stigmas that they have are related to their incarceration, she said.

“I think that probably, a lot of inmates are likely to end up in a shelter situation for some period of time,” she said.

In order to help more former inmates seek assistance the organization would need more resources tailored specifically to reentry services, Harris said. The group would need to have more funding for psychologists and counseling who have experience with inmates.

One thing Harris encounters at the organization is the gratitude that the former inmates express when they are helped.

“Folks who come to our services, almost all of them are extremely grateful,” she said.

“The thought that people are trying to help them get back on their feet, there is a ton of gratitude.”