Former Prisoners Find Support in Michigan, and Success

When robber David Oliver admitted that he'd gotten drunk and stolen a lawnmower over Memorial Day, his friend — and convicted murderer — Ross Hayes didn't feel inclined to let him off the hook.

"You owe everybody in this room an apology," said Hayes, who was released last year from prison after serving 35 years for murder. "What you did reflects on all of us."

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the duo recently gathered for a lunch also attended by another robber, as well as a sex offender and local police serving as mentors. Collectively they're the face of one of the nation's most promising rehabilitation initatives for ex-offenders — the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (MPRI). Profiled this past week by USA Today, the four-year-old experiment is helping men like Oliver and Hayes reboot their lives. Though previously, fully 55% of prisoners freed statewide would end up back behind bars, thanks to MPRI, that figure has dropped to 38%.

Though it's not easy. The deck is heavily weighted against former prisoners: Out of a group of seven former offenders that includes Oliver and Hayes, only two have landed full-time jobs. Though the group has collectively filed over 150 job applications, in all but a few instances, employers simply never responded.

To try and help such job-seekers, the state offers counseling and needs-assessments in the months prior to their release. Once they leave, they're given assistance that ranges from mental health treatment, addiction housing and temporary housing to the far more mundane — bus passes, gasoline cards, clean clothing suitable for job interviews.

For Grand Rapids police Lt. Ralph Mason, the decision to get involved in MPRI wasn't easy. "I've had my years kicking in doors; I've had a partner killed," he says.

But as Mason says, "I also have a best friend who has been to prison three times. I know people can change."

Accordingly, last year, he reached out to James Churchill, who was nearing the end of a 10-year prison sentence for armed robbery. If Churchill, age 34 — who'd been in and out of trouble for decades — could stay crime-free for the first few months after his release, Mason pledged to help Churchill track down a job.

Michigan might be the nation's highest unemployment rate, but with Mason's mentorship, nearly one year after his release, Churchill was able to land a steady job with an industrial plumbing company. He's been successfully employed by the company for nine months now, earning up to $21 per hour.

Police officers like Mason aren't alone in joining MPRI's mission. Across Michigan, state officials have also managed to persuade doctors, clergy and business leaders to serve as mentors to the newly released. It might not take much to set a life back in prison, but as Michigan is proving, it takes people from across the community to help rebuild one.

Photo Credit: loop_oh