Urban Incarceration: The Re-entry Struggle - From Cell to Society (pt-5)

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With over 15 years of advocacy experience and more than a decade specializing in educational and court interpreting, Eloisa V. Baez is passionate about empowering individuals and families through access, representation, and support.

Throughout her career, Eloisa has been a trusted advocate for clients navigating complex systems such as education, healthcare, and legal services. 

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This episode was hosted by Sterling Brown

Episode Transcript

Sterling (00:00):
Some people call prison the revolving door
because as one person comes home, another goes in.
But that phrase speaks aboutsomething deeper Recidivism.
My brother, maurice, had justcome home after a long bit of
state.
I remember it clearly I wassitting on the floor in our

(00:21):
grandmother's living room,cartoons playing on the old box
TV.
He walked past me with thatquiet focus like he already knew
where he was headed.
Just before he left, my mothercalled out stay away from
downtown.
The door slammed.
Three days passed, no sign ofhim.

(00:42):
I climbed into the attic a fewtimes, thinking he might be up
there with his best friend Jake,lighting up like they used to.
I was too young to worry, butmy mom, she wore that fear like
it was stitched in her skin.
She cussed him out like hecould hear her, then whispered a
prayer Lord, please keep my sonsafe.

(01:04):
Almost a week later the phonerang.
It was a detective.
Maurice had been rearrested,parole violation that meant he
owed the rest of his originalsentence.
And then came the new chargescoercion, bribery, more time
stacked on top of time.
This is what they don't tellyou, especially in urban

(01:27):
communities.
Release isn't the finish line.
It starts the line of a wholenew struggle and most people are
walking back into a worldcolder, harder and less
forgiving than the one that theyleft.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
If you have ever been told by someone that you're not
capable of attaining success,if you have made mistakes or
lived in an underprivilegedneighborhood, then this podcast
is for you.
You are now locked in tostruggle to success.
Struggle to success aims toinspire individuals to navigate
life's challenges with courage,fortitude and unwavering

(02:02):
determination.
So if you're in your carjogging or somewhere else trying
to find the calm in the storm,then join Struggle to Success
airing every other Saturday.
Remember life is trials.
Stay focused.

Sterling (02:19):
Today we continue our urban incarceration series with
episode 15, the re-entrystruggle from the cell back to
society.
We're diving into what reentryreally looks like in places like
Dauphin, york and Lancastercounties.
Not just the policies, but thepeople We'll cover.

(02:40):
Who's most affected, whatprograms are working and the
barriers no one warns you about.
And later I'll share how realchange makers like James Ivory,
founder of TranscendentTransformation Coaching, are
shifting the odds in Lancaster,one person at a time.
So what is recidivism?
Recidivism means returning toprison after release, whether

(03:04):
you have new charges orprobation parole violation.
In Pennsylvania, the Departmentof Correction measures it over
three years and right now, 64.7%of released individuals return
within that period.
That's nearly two out of everythree.
Imagine, during your timecoming home and still ending up

(03:26):
back inside.
Let's make it personal DauphinCounty, which includes
Harrisburg, is 69%, york Countyis 68% and Lancaster County is
63%.
So what's Lancaster doingdifferently?
Community, that's thedifference.
Nonprofits and churches arestepping up Supervision that

(03:49):
focuses on support and not justcontrol, recognizing that over
half of recidivism is fromtechnical violations, not new
charges.
And when counties offer realhelp, real things happen.
Real help, real things happenIn York County when someone is
actively receiving supportservices, the recidivism rate

(04:16):
drops 28%.
Who's at risk?
When it comes to race, blackand white recidivism rates are
now nearly the same, bothmid-60s White recidivism is
rising, mostly linked toaddiction.
Gender men still recidivatemore, but women are catching up,
driven by trauma and lack oftailored support.
When it comes to age under 21,74% recidivism.

(04:39):
That's a crisis.
Health-wise mental illness andaddiction increases the risk,
especially in areas hit hard byopioids.
If we look at offenses,property crimes are 75%, drug
offenses are 62%.
These numbers tell a deeperstory poverty, addiction and

(05:00):
untreated wounds that keeppeople locked in a cycle.
But here's what gives me hopeDauphin County's Reentry
Services Center offering therapyand job skills to high-risk
folks.
York's Reentry Coalition since2016,.
Housing help, job training,addiction recovery.
Lancaster's RMO, peer mentors,legal support, housing

(05:25):
recidivism rates for someprograms as low as 15%.
Recidivism rates for someprograms as low as 15%.
Imagine someone walking outwith a second chance folder in
one hand and a bus ticket in theother and standing at a job
fair that same day.
That's what some of theseprograms make possible.
Still, let's not pretend it'seasy.

(05:45):
Housing without an addresseverything crumbles.
Employment stigmas follow youinto the interview room.
Mental health often untreated,often unseen Technical
violations, a missed check-incan undo everything, and for
families like mine, it meansholding your breath every time

(06:08):
the phone rings.
So what now?
If you're someone coming home,this fight is hard, but it's not
hopeless.
If you're a loved one, you'repart of the support system, even
when it feels like you'rehanging on by a thread.
And if you're just tuning in tounderstand.
Remember, behind everystatistic is a story, behind

(06:29):
every story is a soul.
Let's be the ones who don'tjust talk about change, but live
it, share it and support it.
This is Struggle to SuccessPodcast, and I'll leave you with
this.
Freedom is more than just arelease date.
It's the journey after the gatecloses behind you.
Wonderful people, if thisepisode hits home, please rate

(06:50):
this episode on Apple Podcasts.
It really helps me get the wordout there.
And until next time, rememberlife is trials.
Stay focused.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Thanks for checking out this episode of Struggle to
Success.
To connect with the show, youcan email us at
struggletosuccessp at gmailcom.
Make sure you like andsubscribe so that you never miss
an episode.
And remember life is trials,Stay focused.