Program Spotlight: Returning Home Ohio
TanyaPh via Canva.com. To honor the privacy and dignity of those we serve, FrontLine Service does not share client photos or identifying details.
“So many of the individuals we work with were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.Be open-minded; be willing to have a conversation” –Nicole Knepper, Associate Director of Community Health Services.
Dana lay awake on her bunk every night in the weeks leading up to her release. She had been in prison for 7 years – so much would have changed since the last time she’d been free. New family members had been born and others, along with friends, had passed away or moved. She had missed birthdays, weddings, and funerals. Her own children, who were 4 and 7 years old when she’d begun serving her sentence, were now in middle and high school. She was nervous that her kids, who she missed painfully, would be angry with her for not being there to watch them grow up and go through so many milestones. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find housing or a job, because in her mind, no one would want to hire or rent to a convicted felon. On top of that, she knew technology was different, places were no longer what they had been, and all the ways she’d had to learn to socialize on the inside would have to be unlearned again as she readjusted to “normal” society. What should have been a joyous occasion was filled with more and more apprehension as the day drew closer.
Nicole Knepper, Associate Director of FrontLine’s Community Health Services Department, sat with us recently to explain why and how programs like Returning Home Ohio are so helpful and important for people like Dana. “So many of the individuals we work with were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Nicole says. She explains how often people end up incarcerated through a series of circumstances that were well beyond their control: a ticket that couldn’t be paid on time can lead to an arrest warrant, which can then lead to short term jail time during which an individual is likely to lose their job. Situations like this can quickly turn into cycles that are nearly impossible to exit without a proper support network and then can lead to repeated or longer-term incarceration.
Programs like Returning Home are designed to help individuals navigate the complicated process of reintegration and to set a strong foundation for a stable, sustainable life going forward. Nicole says individuals who have exited jail or prison within the last 120 days are the target population. It’s a critical window of time to get in touch, offer supportive services, and build the trust necessary for a solid rapport with clients. “We want to help clients identify and achieve the goals they know will give them the best chance for success,” she says. That often looks like accessing housing and assistance benefits available to them, working toward or maintaining sobriety, obtaining necessary documentation or getting their driver’s license back, engaging in mental health treatment, and finding a job or working on learning a trade.
Upon release, Dana is linked by her parole officer with Returning Home where she begins meeting with a FrontLine Case Worker. In their meetings, they determine that Dana’s most urgent goal is finding housing so she can establish visitation time with her kids. As she makes progress and gains trust for her case worker, Dana agrees that she’d like help building a resumé. However, during the job search process, Dana begins to experience what she later finds out are panic attacks. She often feels judged and the repeated rejections are hard to take; she starts to feel in danger of giving up after months and months of trying. With her case manager, Dana finds a support group for formerly incarcerated folks and starts going to therapy. The added encouragement, knowing she is seen, understood, and accepted without harsh judgment, goes a long way. She eventually finds a job first as a server and then as a manager at a local restaurant.
Nicole says that if she could ask the public for anything when it comes to clients like hers, it’s “Be open-minded; be willing to have a conversation.” “When I talk to people about what I do at work, they’re like are ‘Are you scared? Are you worried?’ And I’m like, most of the clients I have worked with are nicer than a lot of people I’ve met throughout my life.”
FrontLine is proud to offer programming that helps people identify their best options and work towards them with proper support, creating healthier outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.