Augie students learn of struggles of people returning from prison

“Welcome home, everyone. Your first week home starts now.” With those words, Jeffrey Abramowitz helped about 130 volunteers at Augustana College get a glimpse of what it takes for former prisoners to return home and try to to get a job, work with the parole system, get transportation, shop for food and the many other […]

“Welcome home, everyone. Your first week home starts now.” With those words, Jeffrey Abramowitz helped about 130 volunteers at Augustana College get a glimpse of what it takes for former prisoners to return home and try to to get a job, work with the parole system, get transportation, shop for food and the many other tasks it takes to function.

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“I hope they walk away from this today knowing some of the challenges people who have been incarcerated face when they come home,” Mr. Abramowitz said during a reentry simulation exercise Wednesday, March 13, at Augustana’s Gerber Center. The event was hosted by the Rock Island college and its Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP). It was led by Mr. Abramowitz, the executive director of the Petey Greene Foundation, a group that supports academic goals of people in jail and formerly incarcerated people. A similar reentry exercise was held last year and hosted by the Safer Foundation Quad Cities. Like that event last spring, Wednesday’s participants – most of them Augustana students – were given a chance to briefly experience some of the struggles and frustrations associated with returning home after prison. “This short simulation offers participants the chance to step into someone else’s shoes,” said Sharon Varallo, APEP executive director. “To actually experience the bureaucracy, barriers and permanent punishments that impede successful reintegration — and that too often lead to reincarceration.” Launched in August 2021, APEP serves incarcerated men at the East Moline Correctional Center. Through the program, they can earn a four-year degree in communication studies or American studies.  Ms. Varallo added that many people don’t understand why this country has such a high recidivism rate. “After this simulation, our participants will understand that far better — they will understand the incredible statistic that nearly a quarter of Illinoisans who returned to prison did so not because they committed a new crime, but due to a technical violation of parole,” she said. “When people leave prison, what do they tend to experience? That’s what this simulation reenacts.” The simulation began with the volunteers each assigned the identity of a person who just left prison. They were then assigned a variety of tasks to get done, such as visit their parole officer, go to a medical clinic or go to court. (There were about 15 tables set up in the Gerber Center meeting room – each staffed with volunteers and labeled with a sign as one of those destinations for the people returning to society.) During the exercise, those assuming the roles of former prisoners returning to society were given 15 minutes – representing a week in the life of that person – to get their many assigned tasks done. Before the volunteers began their first of four 15-minute sessions, Mr. Abramowitz had this advice for the volunteers: “You need to be smart and think about your next move.” And they need to get an identification card. That turned out to be wise advice. As the volunteers started going to the different tables, many were turned away because they didn’t have the proper identification. So, very quickly, the table designated as the identification card station attracted a long line of people. One of the volunteers in that line was Augustana student Olivia Pigliacelli of Woodstock, Illinois. She was playing the role of “Jamal,” a man returning from prison and trying to get back into society and find a job. While trying to get an ID card, she  found out she didn’t have the proper paperwork and was sent back to jail. (During Wednesday’s exercise, “jail” was a corner of the Gerber Center meeting room.) “It’s been really interesting,” Ms. Pigliacelli said as she stood with about 10 other people in the jail section of the room. “It really shows the struggles, especially in getting an ID.” The Augustana student was eventually bailed out of jail by one of her friends and continued the exercise. Many of the students and other volunteers on Wednesday faced similar struggles.-- and some surprising setbacks. Mr. Abramowitz provided many of those setbacks. For instance, while several people were in line at the “treatment and counseling” table, he came over and said the area had been hit by a COVID-19 outbreak and that station had to shut down. Also, he handed out “wild cards” to some of the volunteers at the exercise. Those cards contained some unexpected events to hit people returning to society that could hurt or help them. Most of the cards seemed to hamper the volunteers’ quests of completing their tasks in 15 minutes. Some of the cards read: “You misunderstood the probation requirements. Return to the probation table.” and “Your mom has a birthday. Spend $50 at the shopping center.” Mr. Abramowitz said the “wild cards” and other unexpected delays represent some of the actual hardships faced by people returning home. He said he has real life experience in this area because he is a convicted felon who was sent to prison about 10 years ago. “Jeff was a trial lawyer in Philadelphia before poor choices in life and his professional career resulted in acceptance of responsibility and a five-year sentence in the federal prison system. Entering the criminal justice system allowed Jeff the opportunity to see the world with a new pair of glasses and find his passion for education and workforce development,” according to information on Mr. Abramowitz’s website. But Mr. Abramowitz wasn’t the only person delivering unexpected delays or events during the exercise. One of the tables at the event was labeled the “chance station.” At that table, Kai Swanson, special assistant to the president of Augustana, played the role of a shady character who had the people returning home take a chance and draw a card. One side of the card could read “Take part in a bank robbery.” The other side of the card showed the consequences of that action. Some people taking a card got $1,200. Others flipped the card and found out they were sent back to jail. One of the reasons the “chance table” was so popular – other than the chance of some fast money – is that it was one of the few tables that did not require people to show an ID card. In addition to giving the students a real glimpse of what it’s like to return to society from prison, college officials said they hope Wednesday’s events will help better educate the students. “Community engagement opportunities like the reentry simulation broadens the perception of the world for Augustana students, and it develops in them the skills employers have said they are seeking,” said Kent Barnds, Augustana’s executive vice president for strategy and innovation, in a news release. Others added that the big goal of the simulation is to help spur change to a legal system that continues to return people to jail. “Every single one of us literally pays for this state system of permanent punishments that hurt our communities, families, children, local and state economies,” Ms. Varallo said. “By better understanding the scope of this problem, our leaders can work toward solutions that benefit everyone.”