My name is Curtis Brothers. Growing up I had guys in my neighborhood that tried to tell me to do the right thing in life, but I always let their advice slip in one ear and out of the other. These guys were the worst role models ever. I guess they were living by that old adage, “Do as I say, not as I do” because they used to tell me to go to school and stay out of trouble, all while they were standing on the block selling drugs. I looked up to those guys. I wanted to be like them. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Challenges of Reentry
Lashonia Etheridge-Bey Videos on Crime, Prison and Reentry
The Prison Dilemma, a video project exploring mass incarceration and the movement for criminal justice reform, has released two new video documentaries on Lashonia Etheridge-Bey. Continue reading
Women in Reentry – Beatrice Codianni – Teresa Guidice’s Bust
Beatrice Codianni is a 66-year-old woman who served 15 years in prison after her conviction for Racketeering. She was a well-known gang leader who was released in 2008 from FCI Danbury. She went on to successfully reintegrate into the community becoming the Managing Editor of Reentry Central, a national website devoted to criminal justice reform and reentry. Continue reading
Is Life After Prison More Challenging for Men or Women?
I ambivalent about whether or not reentry is more difficult for men than it is for women. Maybe the question is not whether it’s more difficult, but how is it different for men than women Continue reading
What is Reentry Like for Recovering Drug Addicts?
Yesterday I spend some time with the women currently housed at the Reentry Sanctions Center (RSC), a program that is overseen by the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) for the District of Columbia. The RSC is a residential program that provides high-risk offenders and parole violators with an intensive assessment and treatment. Based on the results from these individualized assessments, clients are referred to an in-patient or out-patient drug treatment program and into transitional housing. Continue reading
Halfway House Living after Incarceration – Women in Reentry
Last Friday I facilitated a focus group at Fairview, the only residential reentry center in Washington, DC for women. The purpose of the focus group was to determine the needs of the women and to discover the challenges women in reentry are facing while living in the halfway house. Continue reading
D.C. Public Safety Discussion on Starting Over After Prison
Activists Lashonia Etheridge-Bey, Eddie B. Ellis Jr., Patrina Williams and Lamonte Carey tell their individual stories of incarceration, discovery and reentry in a sitdown discussion with Nancy M. Ware, Director of CSOSA. Continue reading
Available Resources for Incarcerated Women
Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking to the women currently incarcerated in the Secure Female Facility Hazelton (SFF) through video conferencing. I was one of several panelists who spoke to the women about the available resources in the District of Columbia that can assist them with reentry. Continue reading
Reentry and Technology: Bridging the Digital Divide After Incarceration
When I went to prison there were no cell phones. The closest thing you got to a cell phone in the early 1990s was a car phone. You could only use it in the car and it was as big as a house phone, if not bigger. Continue reading
Challenges of Reentry for Short and Long-Term Prisoners
The other day I met a gentleman who was recently released from incarceration. He was seeking assistance with employment, housing, and clothing. I asked him how long he was incarcerated. Then I braced myself for his response. Continue reading