When a person leaves prison, they face a myriad of obstacles. Prison normally does not provide a nurturing environment in which social skills so necessary for living together in a community are honed.  Rather, anti-social behavior necessary for survival in prison must be overcome. If the offender entered prison early in life, spending many years behind bars, they likely have not experienced problem-solving skills usually formulated in their late teens and early twenties. Many face serious problems when faced with having to manage money.

 

But before they have money to manage, they need to find employment.  Employment is the Holy Grail for successful re-entry. Everything one needs to successfully live on the outside depends on having a job. But employment is probably the hardest obstacle to overcome.

  

“…People don’t like to hire ex-cons. They make the assumption that you’re dishonest, that you’re dangerous, in many cases. I have a pretty solid post-secondary education ... a couple of degrees and I couldn’t get anyone to take my resume. They saw my name on a resume, they handed it back to me. There wasn’t a single job offer out there. “ Klaus, ex-offender, bank robbery

 

Some jobs are simply closed to offenders. Drug offenders are not likely to get jobs in the medical field. Those convicted of fraud will likely not get jobs in the banking industry. In fact, they may even be denied a bank account. And so the list goes. Nearly all jobs available to ex-offenders offer minimum wages. With such a wage, affordable housing is very difficult to find. When found, what’s left from a paycheck hardly buys life’s necessities.

 

Without an adequate job and affordable housing, an ex-offender is almost certain to return to prison.

“So it’s a lot easier to go out and do something illegal than it is to get a job and work your way up the ladder when life is already against you and you’re already 10 years behind where you should be.” Denise Holden, Executive Director, RASE