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Funded in part by the JEHT Foundation
The MPRI is a statewide collaborative effort administered through a public and private partnership, including the Department of Corrections, Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Department of Community Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Education, Public Policy Associates, and the Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency.MPRI News
Prisoners need help getting back into society
Elisabeth Waldon
Staff Writer | The Daily News
SIDNEY - Employment and transportation are two of the many barriers for newly released prisoners re-entering society.
The Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative's (MPRI) vision is every prisoner released into the community will have the tools needed to succeed. The organization assists parolees with jobs, housing, health care, transportation and society integration.
Goals include enhancing public safety, reducing the number of victims, increasing the success rate of former prisoners and reducing the costs associated with crime.
About 40 people attended a Thursday workshop at Montcalm Community College, including three men who were released after serving a lengthy prison sentence, discussed the issues that parolees face. The men - whose full names were not used - each spoke about how MPRI has helped them.
One man said his greatest challenge was being a sex offender and trying to find a job, as well as relearning social skills.
"I've been incarcerated so long I'm still adjusting to social situations," he said. "I'm even uncomfortable being here today. There's a lot of social, psychological and mental issues going on in prison."
A second man said he also needed help functioning in the community.
"Because I was incarcerated at a young age I never had those skills and MPRI taught me those skills," he said.
A third man said MPRI helped him find a job at a local restaurant and he is about to start an additional job.
"I'm not just some offender coming out of prison," he said. "I'm a man who's willing to work hard. I think positive reinforcement is one of the most helpful things you can do for a guy who just got out of prison. A lot of guys don't have the ability to come out of prison and self-talk themselves into a positive life. Just a little bit makes a lot of difference for that person."
According to MPRI Central Area Community Coordinator Rebecca Stieg, 48 percent of Michigan parolees fail parole within two years of being released from prison, which costs Michigan $117 million per year. Stieg said more than 20,000 parolees have used MPRI since January 2005. A total of 4,408 were sent back to prison, which was more than 2,000 less than had been projected.
Ionia County had 51 participants and Montcalm County had 49 participants in August, which is just a snapshot of how MPRI affects local communities. MPRI works with prisoners through three phases - getting ready to be paroled while in prison, preparing to go home by setting up housing services for addictions and mental illnesses and helping prisoners successfully become permanent contributing members of society.
"We're letting people out of prison - human beings," said MPRI Program Manager Cyndi Gaietto. "We're talking about community members returning to their community."
People can become involved with helping parolees by taking the lead to create community service opportunities or removing barriers to current community services. People can also offer groups to address issues facing parolees or make a church congregation inviting and helping parolees to find ways to become involved at church. People also are needed to become resource volunteers at local parole officers or joining a Community Transition Team in Ionia or Montcalm counties.
"Prison was a punishment," said MPRI Resource Navigator Glennes Page. "Getting out shouldn't be a punishment afterward."
Goals include enhancing public safety, reducing the number of victims, increasing the success rate of former prisoners and reducing the costs associated with crime.
About 40 people attended a Thursday workshop at Montcalm Community College, including three men who were released after serving a lengthy prison sentence, discussed the issues that parolees face. The men - whose full names were not used - each spoke about how MPRI has helped them.
One man said his greatest challenge was being a sex offender and trying to find a job, as well as relearning social skills.
"I've been incarcerated so long I'm still adjusting to social situations," he said. "I'm even uncomfortable being here today. There's a lot of social, psychological and mental issues going on in prison."
A second man said he also needed help functioning in the community.
"Because I was incarcerated at a young age I never had those skills and MPRI taught me those skills," he said.
A third man said MPRI helped him find a job at a local restaurant and he is about to start an additional job.
"I'm not just some offender coming out of prison," he said. "I'm a man who's willing to work hard. I think positive reinforcement is one of the most helpful things you can do for a guy who just got out of prison. A lot of guys don't have the ability to come out of prison and self-talk themselves into a positive life. Just a little bit makes a lot of difference for that person."
According to MPRI Central Area Community Coordinator Rebecca Stieg, 48 percent of Michigan parolees fail parole within two years of being released from prison, which costs Michigan $117 million per year. Stieg said more than 20,000 parolees have used MPRI since January 2005. A total of 4,408 were sent back to prison, which was more than 2,000 less than had been projected.
Ionia County had 51 participants and Montcalm County had 49 participants in August, which is just a snapshot of how MPRI affects local communities. MPRI works with prisoners through three phases - getting ready to be paroled while in prison, preparing to go home by setting up housing services for addictions and mental illnesses and helping prisoners successfully become permanent contributing members of society.
"We're letting people out of prison - human beings," said MPRI Program Manager Cyndi Gaietto. "We're talking about community members returning to their community."
People can become involved with helping parolees by taking the lead to create community service opportunities or removing barriers to current community services. People can also offer groups to address issues facing parolees or make a church congregation inviting and helping parolees to find ways to become involved at church. People also are needed to become resource volunteers at local parole officers or joining a Community Transition Team in Ionia or Montcalm counties.
"Prison was a punishment," said MPRI Resource Navigator Glennes Page. "Getting out shouldn't be a punishment afterward."
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Planning and preparation are the keys to moving prisoners through a successful community re-entry process.