Reentry simulation provides 'eye-opening' experience for community members
Apr. 25—SCRANTON — The 60 new parolees sat in a room at the University of Scranton, faced with a list of tasks.
Obtain an identification card. Attend drug and alcohol counseling. Find a job. Meet with a parole agent.
One missed responsibility could mean going back to prison.
The people — participants in a state Department of Corrections simulation Tuesday — struggled to remain free and gained a better understanding of the challenges faced by individuals transitioning from incarceration back into their communities.
"It makes it real," said Kerry Browning, deputy director of the Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services. "We think we know what clients are facing. ... We need to listen to them when they tell us their stories."
The Lackawanna County Reentry Task Force hosted the simulation, presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Reentry Simulation Team. A capacity crowd of 120 participants, including representatives from social service, health care and law sectors, attended morning and afternoon sessions.
With the recidivism rate higher than desired, it's important to understand the obstacles for people newly released, said Mary Brotzman, a community reentry parole agent for the state. The same program offered in Scranton on Tuesday is also attended regularly by new corrections employees statewide.
Approximately two-thirds of reentrants released from a state Department of Corrections facility are either re-arrested or return to DOC custody within three years of release, according to a 2022 report.
Each participant took on the identity of someone newly released from the state prison system. In four 15-minute sessions, each person had to secure basic needs — such as food and housing — while also meeting the requirements set by parole.
Parole officers reviewed progress between each session. Not paying rent meant a trip to the homeless shelter. Breaking the rules, even missing an appointment for not having a bus token, sometimes meant a trip to prison.
"It's eye-opening," Cindy Kennedy, director of community engagement and partnerships at Maternal and Family Health Services, said while sitting in prison. "Working in public health, knowing what our clients can be going through, is so important."
Frank Bolock waited in line to purchase bus tokens so he could visit the other tables, wearing a monitoring device and in danger of breaking the conditions of his release. The attorney handles cases for people facing similar circumstances and he said the simulation helped open his eyes even more to the obstacles.
"I have a feeling I'm going to jail by the end of this," he said.
Fifteen minutes later, Bolock sat in prison.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.
