#recdivism

From tax dollars to the unemployment rate, we should all care about recidivism

If it hasn’t happened to you or a loved one, it’s hard to imagine incarceration impacting your life. But the truth is that mass incarceration not only affects those involved in the justice system and their families. It has an influence on all of us and our community. Things like taxpayer dollars, employment rates, and the economy at large are all intertwined with the prison and justice systems.

Pennsylvania for example has the not-so-proud position  of the fourth highest state prison expenditure in the country. In dollars and cents, it costs just under $43,000 to house an inmate in Pennsylvania for a year, totaling over $2 million annually.  Specifically in Philadelphia, the poorest large city in the United States,  there are countless ways that a saved taxpayer dollar could be reallocated to address the needs of its citizens, a quarter of whom are living below the poverty line.

John Orens, Philadelphia real estate developer, drug addiction advocate, and founder of the Daniel J. Orens Center for Life, a space that offers services for people reentering society explains, “The real value in prison housing is to make sure that the housing is temporary and not permanent. As long as recidivism rates are unacceptably high, we are wasting our money.”

Orens goes on to explain why the Center for Life partners with New Leash on Life, “Many returning citizens do not have the support or resources to reorient back into society as law abiding citizens. At the end of the day, there has to be something tangible and attainable for a returning citizen to succeed at a normal life and that is what New Leash on Life provides.”

High rates of incarceration and recidivism for those with low-level, non-violent offenses also decreases Philadelphia productivity rates. A criminal record is a major barrier to employment.  For those with a record, the unemployment rate is five times higher than the national average*, which has a cyclical impact on poverty and crime. As one of the greatest predictors of the likelihood of returning to prison, New Leash on Life focuses on decreasing  the unemployment rate after incarceration.

The New Leash on Life program provides 12 weeks of comprehensive job readiness, life skills, and animal health care workshops. Graduates are guaranteed 60-day internships after their release which for many results in permanent employment. During that 60 days, returning citizens are paid and transportation is covered. The program also provides the essential support that many newly released citizens need and often lack: referrals to housing programs, financial and literacy workshops, weekly visits with case managers, substance abuse help, access to educational opportunities, and ongoing employment assistance.

“There are bad people in the world who need to be remain detained. Many however are good people who have a serious problem or have made bad decisions. These people deserve the type of support that New Leash on Life provides,” explains Orens

With a 50 percent lower recidivism rate than the city of Philadelphia as a whole, graduates of the New Leash on Life program are half as likely to see the inside of a prison again, resulting in tax dollars saved, more productivity, lower crime rates, and new role models with stories of redemption returning to their communities.

To hear more personal stories from returning citizens check out our Life after Prison series on the New Leash on Life YouTube station.