Corrections_Today_September_October_2023_Vol.85_No.5

■ REENTRY

federal bonding program. 13 Additionally, many states have enacted laws that limit an employer’s liability when hir ing individuals with criminal backgrounds. Integrating nonprofits Another step in the process of cooking a good gumbo is — stirring the pot. During this portion of the presenta tion, we move into other parts of the recipe that enhance the flavor and complement the main dish — like season ing, rice and potato salad. The final product has cooked all day and is ready to eat. The gumbo may smell great and taste excellent, but some people may need a bit more convincing when it comes to cooking it themselves, or even eating the entire bowl. The presentation highlights these additional ingre dients to show why Right On Crime’s Reentry Gumbo is a good fit for probation and parole officers, employers, community partners and for the nation. Nonprofits play a crucial part in providing direct services and advocacy for individuals with criminal backgrounds, addressing areas like poverty, employment, transportation, mental health and substance abuse. The analogy continues as the presentation compares rice, an essential component of gumbo, to the unique role of the nonprofit sector in reentry. Nonprofits play a crucial part in providing direct services and advocacy for indi viduals with criminal backgrounds, addressing areas like poverty, employment, transportation, mental health and substance abuse. They also collaborate with businesses to offer job training and incentives for hiring individuals with criminal records. The nonprofit sector has been active in reentry across the nation through direct services and advocacy. Many non profit organizations have been providing reentry services to

our communities for decades. For example, Goodwill In dustries, was founded by Rev. Edgar J. Helms in 1902 with the philosophy of providing “a hand up, not a handout” is a great example of reentry in action and its mission remains to target poverty. In Louisiana, a good cook learns from their parents how to cook the perfect gumbo. However, a great cook learns from a grandparent! When my grandmother pre pared gumbo she would use a spoon to take a final taste of the finished product, making sure it was worthy of serving. We would all wait in anticipation of her response. The typical response was “C’est Bon” which is Cajun French for “it’s good.” No one wanted to hear the dreaded words, “it’s missing something.” That meant, more seasoning and a whole variety of trial and error to get the gumbo to its perfect state. This is why I love the analogy of gumbo and reentry. The unique blend of services, service providers, employ ers, nonprofits, government agencies — in a perfect world — come together to create an effective reentry program. An effective program is one where you can’t tell which service is the best — because everyone has come together to create the perfect mixture that compliments strengths and weaknesses to assist those who are trying to reenter society and rebuild their lives. In reentry, public safety, and the lives of those on supervision, depend on the recipe being complete. Much like a great Cajun cook learns from a grandpar ent’s wisdom, the Reentry Gumbo analogy underscores the importance of bringing together everyone in a com munity to create the perfect blend for effective reentry programs. By infusing a collective spirit into community supervision and learning from the roots of John Augustus, we can construct the ideal Reentry Gumbo that empow ers individuals to reintegrate successfully into society and rebuild their lives. C’est Bon! ENDNOTES 1 Oudekerk, B., & Kaeble, D. 2021. Probation and parole in the United States, 2019. Bulletin (NCJ 256092). Bureau of Justice Statistics 2 National Institute of Corrections. The Role of Community Supervision in the Criminal Justice Process . 3 Ibid 4 NYC Probation: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/probation/about/history-of- probation.page

50 — September/October 2023 Corrections Today