Those who have done time behind bars for crimes often find
it difficult to transition back home once they’ve paid their debt to society,
including trouble finding employment and housing opportunities.
“The first thing is finding employment. There are many
challenges for people with criminal histories. Employers are looking for stable
people who will be there every day, who will fulfill their roles and bring
benefits to the employer’s company,” said J. Jondhi Harrell, executive director
and founder of
The Center for Returning Citizens, a Philadelphia organization
that helps people transition from incarceration to society. “Violence on a
record can scare employers.”
According to the organization’s website it is “dedicated to
restorative approaches in battling the effects of mass incarceration upon
individuals, families and the community.” The organization embraces “a culture
of hard work, family responsibility, community involvement, ethical behavior
and social consciousness,” according to its website.
“We help them create a life plan and set goals. We provide a
foundation for their lives. We find employment. We find housing,” said Harrell,
adding the organization also assists former inmates with obtaining drug and
alcohol or mental health counseling. “Whatever a person needs to sustain them
in their day-to-day life, that’s our focus.”
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| J. Jondhi Harrell, executive director The Center for Returning Citizens |
Harrell said the organization accomplishes its goals through
programs that provide counseling for the children of incarcerated parents; provide
social and educational opportunities for at-risk youth in communities; and assist
citizens returning from prison, both male and female, and those who have been
home for various time periods but are still suffering from mass incarceration
and its effect on their transition to freedom.
In August, Harrell, at the request of county Assistant
Public Defender Alexander De Simone, appeared in county court during a sentencing
hearing for convicted robber William Lee Adams to tell a judge about the
benefits of the special re-entry program.
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| Montco Assistant Public Defender Alexander De Simone |
“We took a creative stand on sentencing. It’s a re-entry
program,” De Simone told me, adding Adams, 48, previously spent 20 years in
prison as a young man. “That’s the prime of your life. That’s when you learn
what reality is and you learn how to deal with society at-large. He missed
that. He didn’t have life skills, didn’t have job skills.”
After hearing Harrell’s testimony, Judge Garrett D. Page
sentenced Adams, a Philadelphia man who robbed the TD Bank branch in Montgomery
Township of about $6,700 in February 2014, to jail time but also ordered that
he be paroled to the special re-entry program to help him transition back to
society.
It was only the second time that public defenders have
proposed TCRC as a sentencing tool. After hearing Harrell’s enlightening testimony,
I suspect defenders may propose TCRC in the future for other clients. Credit must go to De Simone for bringing the unique program to the attention of the judge.
During the last several years, as criminal justice-related
issues like mass incarceration and police and sentencing practices were
discussed nationwide, the public defender’s office launched several initiatives
aimed at improving indigent defense services and with a client-centered
advocacy philosophy. Those initiatives have included holding expungement
clinics and hiring its first social worker who helps defenders identify
specific individualized rehabilitative options for clients during the court
process.
“I hope for the best for Mr. Adams. I hope he sticks with
the program and figures out how to live in society,” De Simone said after the
judge ordered that Adams be paroled to the special re-entry program.
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| J. Jondhi Harrell (l) with Montco Assitant Public Defender Alexander De Simone/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. |
Harrell said the organization has assisted 640 people since
its inception in 2012 and currently is assisting 230 people.
“We have a small staff of about 4 to 5 people. But how we
really do our work is through our volunteer staff. We have about 25 to 30
volunteers who represent a wide range of services. We have retired social
workers, psychologists and counselors and mentors and they devote their time
and energy because they believe in the mission and they believe in the
philosophy,” Harrell said.
For more information about TCRC or to inquire about becoming
a volunteer check out the organization’s website at www.tcrcphilly.org
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