The Impact of Community Based Reentry Organizations: Health
Health
Prison creates a number of difficulties and one of these difficulties is issues with mental and physical health. About 60% of people who are incarcerated have a substance abuse disorder and 2 in 5 individuals that are incarcerated have a history of mental illnesses. Not only are individuals affected mentally, but one third of jail inmates report a physical health problem. These individuals are being released back into the community and if they do not have access to health services, the overall public health of the community will decline.
Most formerly incarcerated individuals either do not have immediate access to public health services and may not know about how to obtain health insurance or find affordable healthcare. Individuals released from incarceration who are not linked with health services when they are released are even more likely to return to jail or prison. Research has even shown that some individuals deliberately return to incarceration because they feel as if they obtain better care while being incarcerated than they do while being on their own. It is a problem that a person with a health issue feels more attended to while incarcerated than they do in their own community.
When individuals are released from prison, they may have no idea how to go about the process of obtaining health care, mental health support, or substance abuse interventions. If they were to have access to the community program, the program could point them towards resources in which they could obtain what they need for successful reintegration. For example, the organization can point them in the direction of health insurance, low-cost medical care, and setting up doctors’ visits. Some organizations cannot solve health problems, but they can make sure the individuals know the resources they have to obtain health care.
Some community-based organizations might not be able to provide formal healthcare, but they can hold support groups for people with mental health and substance abuse issues. Being incarcerated is a traumatic event and individuals can experience PTSD or PICS, Post-incarceration syndrome upon release. Post incarceration syndrome is similar to PTSD, and it can lead to trust issues and feelings of isolation. A counseling-based reentry initiative to deal with mental health and substance abuse problems would help formerly incarcerated individuals be able to deal with the problems they have which also allows them to have a greater chance at finding successful employment and housing.
LINC provides multiple resources to deal with health after incarceration. The Residential Reentry Program at the Marvin E. Roberts (M.E.R.) Transitional Living Campus provides substance abuse treatment as well as health and medical services in a wholistic therapeutic environment. LINC also partners with the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition (NC FIT) Program. NC FIT address individuals with chronic health issues and connects individuals with primary care, prescriptions, and health care. In 2023, 77 clients were connected with mental and physical health services and 187 LINC clients were signed up for insurance with the NC FIT ACA partnership. Lastly, LINC provides a cognitive behavioral intervention group that is designed to help individuals with opioid use disorders. In 2023, 134 clients were served in the CBI program and 97% of individuals returned for multiple group sessions.
Overall, providing resources for mental and physical health after incarceration is very important in order to make sure individuals who were formerly incarcerated have the best chance of reintegrating into their communities. Healthy members of the community are productive members of the community.
About the Author
Jessica Yohey is a Master’s degree student at UNC-Wilmington in the Criminology and Sociology program. She is passionate about learning about today’s criminal legal system and the ways in which it can be improved to provide more justice for all. Jessica is especially interested in the impact of community-based organizations and the process of reentry. Currently interning for Eyes on the Law, she looks forward to learning more about the impact LINC has on the community, and is excited for the experiences that LINC and EOL provide. Jessica plans to use this experience to guide her educational journey!