Update

People coming out of prison deserve a new beginning.

Aaron Kirkland believes that wholeheartedly. And it’s why Aaron, father of three young children, college student, and superintendent of green stormwater operations at the Philadelphia Water Department, carves out time in his busy schedule to volunteer as a mentor for the Prison Society.

“People will be released. People will come back to society,” he said. “The way they are received can directly impact you, your community, and your city. They have completed their sentences, and they won’t be prepared to be productive unless support is in place.”

The Prison Society provides that support through its mentoring program. 

Each year more than 12,000 individuals return home, and a staggering 34% of them will return to prison within one year. The mentoring program is designed to help ease the transition from incarceration back to communities by providing a helping hand and a social support network.

Aaron understands this better than most. He spent five years in prison and counts the mentors he met along the way as instrumental in making him the productive citizen he is today.

“I do it in gratitude for the opportunities extended to me as a returning citizen,” he said. “My success. My career. I’m a homeowner. I’m married. I have three children, and I am a senior at Temple University.

“I think it’s our duty to give back.” 

Aaron met an important mentor in prison. A man who was serving a life sentence took Aaron under his wing and taught him writing, mathematics, and many life lessons, including a way for Aaron to understand what landed him in prison in the first place. 

“He taught me patience. He was persistent. He prepared me for release, and he conducted himself like a gentleman despite the environment we were in,” Aaron said. “He taught me character.” 

Months after Aaron left prison in September 2014, he discovered PowerCorpsPHL, a workforce training program connected to the Philadelphia Water Department. 

“I wanted security, I wanted consistency, and I wanted the reputation that comes with working for the city of Philadelphia,” Aaron said. “It is something I could be proud of, and my family could be proud of. It seemed respectable.”

Aaron became an apprentice and was ultimately hired by the water department in 2016. Since then, he has risen steadily through department ranks and now supervises 30 employees. 

Aaron credits Alex Warwood and Gerald Bright, two environmental scientists in the Water Department, with mentoring him from the start. They guided him, encouraging him to develop expertise and imagine his work as a career instead of a job. 

Aaron now mentors his team, including some who have served time in prison. 

Reentry programs often focus on the important work of finding people jobs. The Prison Society’s mentors concentrate on the social and emotional components of reentry.

It’s the right approach, Aaron said.

“I encourage my mentees to seek counseling, to seek therapy. It’s OK that you had this pain. It’s OK you feel this way.” 

“I’ve taken counseling, marital therapy,” he said. “I’ve made it through life. But I might have brought some things with me that I need to unload that can cause friction in relationships or in the workplace.”

Aaron also mentors his fellow Prison Society volunteers.

“It’s one thing to have a handbook on how to mentor,” he said. “But when you have the same experience that your mentees are going through and will face, you can give insights to that mentee as well as to other mentors. It’s hard to give someone advice if you haven’t been in their shoes.”

One challenge, he said, is to make people coming out of prison believe they deserve a second chance in life.

“You’ve served your time, and now it’s time to rebuild and recreate your life, without limitations,” he said. “There is support, and the Prison Society has said, ‘Come and be a part of us.’” 

Mentors and mentees meet weekly – either in person, or via email or phone – while the mentee is still in prison, with the hope that the relationship will continue after release. Committing to 12-month terms, mentors receive training and support.  

For example, Aaron frequently attends the Prison Society’s monthly Hope Alive meetings for mentors and for mentees who have recently returned home from prison. They talk about jobs, the parole system, and successes and challenges in setting and meeting goals.  

Sometimes mentors become discouraged when relationships don’t coalesce or continue. 

Neither situation worries Aaron. He believes each mentee will find the right mentor at the right time, so he offers what he can without frustration or discouragement. 

“I’ve served the best that I could at that moment. You have to be available,” he said. “You have to get out of the idea that there’s the perfect mentor.”

Mentoring, Aaron said, pays dividends beyond just one relationship. 

“What you get in return for investing in someone is that the person has the opportunity to invest in someone else,” he said. “Your work multiplies.”

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This month, we're celebrating our incredible Prison Society mentors!

Mentors play a vital role in supporting people as they transition from prison back into society. Click here to learn more and to apply to become a mentor.