Community Engagement and Offender Re-entry

Prisoner re-entry is a prevalent, challenging and an often-neglected issue in the United States. Upon release from prison, offenders are met with several barriers that prohibit successful transition back into the community. The lack of societal support and community engagement is a major contribution to the barriers and restrictions imposed on ex-offenders and their inability to successfully transition into law-abiding citizens. The purpose of this project is to examine community awareness of ex-offender challenges and re-integrative initiatives, investigate what hinders community engagement during the transition process, and to assess community willingness in re-entry initiatives. Findings from this study will be valuable to mental health and criminal justice professionals in developing and implementing better interventions that include community engagement. Additionally, findings could prompt policy-makers to re-examine and reduce the number of collateral consequences imposed on individuals with a felony conviction, seek to assimilate into their communities and become law-abiding citizens. Keywords: ex-offenders, re-integration, community, re-entr