People coming home from prison have so much to figure out as they start a new life: a place to live, a job, health care providers, transportation. But their greatest concern is often about their ability to cope with this major life change.
“Giving someone social and emotional support through this process is addressing that main area of concern,” says Andy Peifer, who facilitates the Prison Society’s mentoring program for incarcerated people nearing parole.
That unique emphasis on social and emotional support is key to the program’s success, according to a new independent review of the program by a researcher at LaSalle University. Now, the Prison Society is set to expand the mentoring program, drawing on the insights in the review to replicate its successes in two more state prisons in Western Pennsylvania.
Facing human challenges together
The Prison Society’s mentoring program starts inside prison with a series of five weekly workshops for incarcerated people who are within six months of parole. The sessions cover topics like communication skills, searching for a job, mental health, and navigating personal relationships.
But it’s not just what the workshop covers, but how that makes the difference, according to the review by Caitlin Taylor, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at LaSalle. Andy and his co-facilitator of the workshop, Joe Robinson, create an environment where incarcerated people feel comfortable openly talking about their hopes and fears, and they do this by opening up about their own experiences.
Joe, the Prison Society’s mentoring coordinator, shares his experiences as a formerly incarcerated person, and in a session on coping with trauma, tells the men about the post-traumatic stress he deals with from being shot.
“I was relating to them on that matter, like, I also dealt with trauma, but I know how to deal with it by talking to a professional or talking it out with someone like that,” Joe says. “You can't keep that all bottled up inside yourself.”
By sharing their own personal challenges, Joe and Andy make the men feel like equals who won’t be judged for what they say. Joe’s experience with incarceration also helps him connect with the participants, and gives them an inspiring example of the potential for their lives after prison.
“Now this brother’s back in the institutions giving back, let alone going to Temple University. It was mind blowing,” one participant told Taylor.
But even Andy, who does not bring the shared experience of incarceration, is able to draw on his personal experiences to connect with the men. He stresses that a lot of the challenges they are facing are not unique to incarcerated people, but are universal human struggles.
“I do have a lot in common with people as a father, or as someone who's making decisions about employment, or someone who's trying to communicate better with their partner,” Andy says. “I went through a really drastic career change at 37 years old, and there's a lot of commonality in terms of stepping into the unknown that people, I think, really resonate with.”
One participant told Taylor that Andy’s openness “meant a lot to me… to show me like he's willing to allow us into his life. A lot of people [who work at the prison]—facilitators, staff members—they don't do that.”
The rewards go both ways. At the end of the 5-week workshop, Andy tells each group how much he learned from their sessions, too. “In every one of these cohorts, somebody says something that sticks with me,” he says.
Building connections for long-term support
A recurring theme of the mentoring program is building a network of social connections and support that participants can draw on as they rebuild a life outside of prison. They are paired with formerly incarcerated mentors after completing the workshop who can draw on their own experience to provide guidance and support that continues long after the transition home. In addition, they have access to two monthly peer support groups, and Andy and Joe remain available to help connect them to resources they need.
In the past two and a half years, more than 360 people from State Correctional Institution (SCI) Phoenix and SCI Chester in southeastern Pennsylvania have gone through the mentoring workshop. Soon, it will reach even more people on the other side of the state.
The list of challenges facing incarcerated people returning home may be long and varied, but social support and emotional resilience can prepare them to meet every single one of them.
As Kirstin Cornnell, the Prison Society’s family and community support director, says, “Mentoring is the glue that makes everything else stick.”
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.