Resources:
Lee Van Roth's Feature Article: “Beyond Incarceration”: New program offers supportive services for people leaving Washtenaw County Jail
Packard Health: Beyond Incarceration
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department
Transcription:
Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is On the Ground Ypsi. Leaving jail is often just the beginning of another difficult journey. Finding housing, healthcare, employment, and recovery support can be overwhelming, especially for people trying to rebuild their lives after incarceration. Through Packard Health's Beyond Incarceration initiative, reentry coach Jessica Slone works one-on-one with individuals before they're released from the Washtenaw County Jail, helping them navigate those challenges and connect with the resources they need to succeed. Today, Jess is here to tell us a little bit more about her work with Packard and her experience working with our neighbors who are coming home. Jess, thanks so much for being here today!
Jessica Slone: Of course! It's an honor!
Lee Van Roth: So, you have described your own personal lived experience as one of your greatest strengths that you're bringing to this role as reentry coach at Packard. What can you tell us about your journey and what inspired you to take those experiences and put that toward this kind of work?
Jessica Slone: So, breaking stigma is number one. A lot of people they don't want to feel as though they're being approached by a being studied standpoint.
Lee Van Roth: Mm-hmm.
Jessica Slone: I often tell them, pretty much immediately, "Listen. I'm not studying you. I'm not a person who went to school to understand you. I am you." And so, I give them a snippet, and I see walls break down within a few minutes. And so, I think that's really important. I love when I'm actually challenged and given somebody that I'm told prior to is sort of a hard shell to break because I know that that's going to be the perfect connection for me. I know what that means, and that means they're just the person who wants somebody like me. So, yeah, it's nice to see those walls break down, and it's very rewarding.
Lee Van Roth: And folks leaving incarceration are facing so many different challenges, as soon as they're back within their community. It's a challenge to find housing. It's a challenging to find work. Staying in recovery is another big thing. There are all of these different hurdles for folks to kind of jump over. And from your perspective, what are some of the the bigger hurdles that you're seeing from folks that are coming back into our community here in Ypsi?
Jessica Slone: Housing, number one. 100%. A lot of people don't have a lot of direction. It's hard for them to feel positive going back out into the community. In fact, there's, oftentimes, fear returning to the community because they don't know where to go once they walk out of those doors. They don't always know how they're going to survive. And a lot them want to go out and do right, but they feel forced to go back to what they've known to survive. And so, housing is definitely a huge barrier. Often, if they have some type of substance history, there's a little more opportunity to place them under a roof versus handing them a tent.
Lee Van Roth: Right.
Jessica Slone: Because then, you have the recovery houses. You have transitional housing available to them. But even with that, oftentimes, there's a long waiting list. And so, sometimes, they get discouraged in the process of waiting. So, I try to connect with them within just a few days of after release. I, pretty much 99% of the time, direct them over to another organization called A Brighter Way.
Lee Van Roth: We're familiar with A Brighter Way at Concentrate.
Jessica Slone: Yes. We work very closely together. I tell them and joke with them all the time. Like, "You guys just need to put me on your payroll." I bring pretty much anybody that's willing to stay connected with me once they return to the community, I meet them there. So, I never can stress to them enough the power in community, building those bridges and not burning them. That's what I often share with them, being that that's been my experience. And, once they hear where I've been and then see where I'm at, I think they take heed to my words. And community is huge. You have to build a team. I can't always be there. I'm one person. So, it's like, I've heard it be said, "One mission, but many hands." So, I always wanna connect them to more resources, more community, build a theme, have more resources.
Lee Van Roth: And I know that's been a big part of your work with Packard. The Beyond Incarceration program is designed to ensure folks get access to the healthcare and health support that they need once they have left incarceration. But you're doing way more than just connecting folks with doctors. There is helping people get to their appointments, helping them find additional resources outside of the medical kind of sphere, those things that some of us might see as small, those smaller gestures. How do they make such a big difference in a recovery journey?
Jessica Slone: During their time of incarceration, so I can go and meet them on the block, but I like to personalize it a little more and have that one-on-one with them. They feel safer, and they can let their guard down more by me pulling them into correctional services, and we have this little space I bring them into. There's a couple of couches. You can just kind of relax and escape the reality for just even an hour. And sometimes, I ask them, "Hey, are you a pop person? Chip person? What do you crave that you can't have here?" And then, for the next time I meet with them, I'll just do something simple as have that Diet Coke, have those bag of Doritos, and I tell them, "You can kite me." That's a form of communication in the jail. You can send a kite, even if it's just to get pulled out and have a break, have somebody to talk to. And it's those little things that will help them want to connect to me in the community and stay connected. So, I try to really do those little things to just build that rapport.
Lee Van Roth: This is WEMU's On The Ground Ypsi. I'm Lee Van Roth speaking with Jess Slone, a reentry coach with Packard Health about helping individuals successfully transition back into the community after incarceration. So, Jess, you have worked with several individuals at this point. I can only imagine the stories that you hear from all of these different folks, all of these different lived experiences. Is there a success story or something that you can think of from your work that really illustrates what's possible when someone has the support that they need when they come back into the community?
Jessica Slone: Yes, actually quite a few, but one specific that stands out to me. I had an older gentleman who admitted to me he has struggled with alcoholism for years. And he is well in his 50s, and he's been drinking since he was 12. He never had been introduced to the recovery community. So, during his time of incarceration, I connected him to those resources. He got into Dawn Farms, actually, fairly quick. But I was proud of him because he held on in those few.... actually, it was about a week in between his release up until he got in to Dawn Farms. And he held on. He stayed strong. And now, he still connects with me. Months down the road, he still will reach out and just simply thank me because his eyes have opened. A whole new world opened up for him. He never knew anything about the recovery community. Now, he's working. He's living in transitional housing. Like, he really has hope today. He's got connections today. He's got support. He's got friends. And he's just super grateful--one of the most humble people I've ever known. And that just really has touched my heart.
Lee Van Roth: And I'm wondering if looking at this particular gentleman, as well as other folks that you've connected with, what have you learned through this work?
Jessica Slone: It does give me strength. It reminds me that when I hear somebody thank me and really share the impact I had on them, it reminds me why I do this. Sometimes, in all honesty with my past, it can be a challenge because some of the trauma I've experienced feels as if it's in my face sometimes. But then, I'm reminded why I do this, and that it's not about me, and it just makes it all worth it. So, it's caused me to really develop more humility and just more gratitude.
Lee Van Roth: And if there are folks listening today who maybe have a loved one who's returning from incarceration, maybe someone who is facing those challenges themselves, what would you want them to know about this work that you're doing at Packard? Why is this something that someone should consider when they're coming back into our community?
Jessica Slone: You know, helping somebody believe in themselves, people who have completely lost hope, it's very important to have somebody that truly will stick by them. That's everything! A lot of them feel as if they're hopeless, and everybody kind of gave up. So, it's really important to just encourage your loved ones and believe in them, not discourage them, not wait for the shoe to drop, but actually acknowledge their successes.
Lee Van Roth: Jess, I want to thank you so much for joining me here today and for sharing a little bit about your personal history and how that has translated into this really great work that you're doing with Packard Health. It's a really important thing to make sure all of our neighbors feel safe and successful in our community. And thank you so much for being a part of that process!
Jessica Slone: Yes, of course! Thank you for having me!
Lee Van Roth: For more on today's conversation and a link to the full visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
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