How hard is life after jail? Lexington event draws attention to ‘hurdles’ in re-entry
Surrounded by individuals in recovery every day, Rob Perez thought he understood the hardships that come with re-entering society after incarceration through his second-hand view.
Perez is the owner of DV8 Kitchen, a second chance employment restaurant for those recovering from substance use. He said he didn’t “realize in his heart and soul” how hard it was for someone with substance use disorder to get back into society – even after they have served their jail or prison time.
It wasn’t until he participated in a re-entry simulation with the Department of Corrections’ Division of Reentry Services that he experienced the challenges people could face.
“I thought I knew, I really did,” Perez told the Herald-Leader. “I thought when I was going to this simulation because of the people we employ, I thought I knew. But the reality is that time and money are such a constraint, I had no idea – because I have never been without money. I have never lost my job, I really didn’t know how hard it was to re-enter our community.”
Thursday evening, Perez hosted a similar re-entry simulation event with the Department of Corrections for others in the Lexington area to better understand the difficulties of finding a job, home and food after incarceration.
Perez and his wife, Diane, offer employment only to those who are in treatment for substance use disorder. He said he hoped the event would show other community stakeholders what they can do to make re-entry easier.
“We want this event to pose the question to the bluegrass region that if you have housing or have jobs – it’s fine if you have to have a barrier – I understand that, but can you find something you can say yes to?” Perez said.
He said businesses can unknowingly “put up their own barriers and hurdles” which can be “devastating.”
Perez said the simulation was designed to replicate the first four weeks of someone’s life after leaving jail or prison. Participants begin with an assigned background, a fixed budget, limited bus tokens, requirements to fulfill basic needs and probation restraints they have to follow. There’s also a time constraint.
Participants go from table to table where they try to acquire resources to fulfill all their needs and obligations.
If you don’t complete some of the tasks on your list, you get sent to jail.
“You’re just getting out of jail, you have court ordered restitution, you have to attend a certain amount of recovery meetings, you have to test at a site to make sure not using, and you have X amount of money,” Perez explained. “Then you are given a sheet that gives you four weeks of your life.”
He said for four weeks, participants have specific tasks to complete: they have to secure housing, a job and food while following court orders.
When Perez did the simulation, he didn’t eat the first week because he didn’t have enough money.
He said he went to apply for a job during the exercise, but when he started to fill out the application he only had 20 seconds before he had to move on – which simulated the business closing down.
“So I had no time for an interview, no bus token to get home, so I had to walk 5 miles to where I live. It was very powerful, it really hit me hard,” he said.
Michelle Chism, justice program administrator with the Division of Reentry Services, said the event has been around for about five years. It was inspired by another state’s programming.
Police and parole staff going through training participate in the event so “they can see the other side of it.”
Chism has been part of the event, and said it gave her a new perspective.
“The more we can get out there and host this — especially for employers and different community partners throughout the state of Kentucky — it really puts themselves in the other person’s shoes to show how hard it is for these individuals to be successful with the day-to-day barriers they face,” Chism said.
She said the department of re-entry helps offer wrap-around services to the justice involved population and host expungment clinics.
“I think if you haven’t been through the barriers these people face, employment because of their record, or simply not knowing where to get your birth certificate or social security card, people don’t know that and I think it is important for people to know that is what they face on a day-to-day basis when they come out and face all the stipulations that are put on when they are put on supervision,” Chism said.
Following the event, participants said they felt free transportation, improved wraparound services, more access to jobs and transparency about resources from probation and parole would help them better navigate returning to life after incarceration.
The Department of Corrections works with community partners to host re-entry simulation events. Those interested can contact the department at 502- 782-2347.
This story was originally published May 19, 2023 at 10:59 AM.
