New Glasses for Society
By: Brody Smithwick
There are things that need to take place in our society as a whole if we ever want to see a massive reduction in recidivism. Society has to shift its perspective on incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. The latter being the most essential to the reducing-recidivism-equation. People must realize that the incarcerated are not The Others—they are humans. Most frequently, they are hurting human beings whose behaviors are driven by that hurt and a great sense of hopelessness. The burden belongs to the local communities to band together and embrace returning citizens. After all, according to the Congressional Research Service, “At least 95 percent of incarcerated people will be released back to their communities at some point.” This statistic is staggering.
Due to their criminal record, tactics at the local level are implemented to make it harder for them to obtain gainful employment while their basic rights are taken away which only reinforces the mentality that they are less than. Everything possible is done to keep transitional housing and other rehabilitative initiatives out of the “nice parts” of town. This is not an exhaustive list. The measures that are taken to ensure that a Felon does not rise above his/her station is astounding. What is even more mind boggling is that Society, after placing all of these barriers in front of a returning citizen, is then shocked when someone consistently reoffends and ultimately writes off those individuals as unredeemable. While there are certainly individuals that if given every opportunity and resource would still resort to a life of crime, you have to wonder what percentage of offenders could become productive members of society if they just had the right kind of help.
How can we be the ones who give the right kind of help?
Build pipelines from jails and prisons that funnel individuals into supportive networks. Reward local and Big Businesses for embracing second chance hiring. Vote to pass legislation that allows criminal records to truly become a part of a person's past rather than a permanent barrier to an abundant future. Most importantly, giving the right kind of help begins when Society chooses to operate from a place of Hope and compassion rather than fear and suspicion when it comes to the formerly incarcerated. Without these things taking place in Society, we will never see a drastic drop in the recidivism rate.
My story of breaking out of the cycle includes all of the above. I had an encounter with a person that cast an entirely new vision for my life. They promised to walk alongside me and equip me to chase down this new dream. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to obtain an education and other skills that eventually lead me to apply for gainful employment. Those employers took chances on me, and that encouragement meant more than they will ever know. I can’t stress how important that is to the equation. More than one person decided to look past my criminal record and give me a job. They chose to believe that a person really could become a new creation.
The first step to seeing the tides turn in the fight against recidivism is instilling a sense of Hope in those currently caught in the vicious cycle. Then they must be equipped with the right skills and tools to ensure a personal victory. Ultimately, Society must undergo a paradigm shift in how it views those who have lived an incarcerated story. If we all linked arms and rallied around the individuals trying to exit the system, we would see more progress than we ever dreamed possible.
