Reentry simulation to be held May 10 at Delaware Tech in Georgetown

Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown will host a Reentry Simulation from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Saturday, May 10, for participants to experience the challenges newly freed prisoners face after their release. The event will be facilitated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Pennsylvania. 

In Delaware, 3,468 men and women are in prison for crimes committed and 1,067 are in pretrial detention. Upon release, Delaware’s prisoners face a challenging environment at every level that often prevents them from becoming productive members of society. Post-incarceration, many Delawareans have difficulty getting a job, especially if they have limited education and work experience. Former prisoners who have served lengthy sentences face technological advances that are essential in new job markets and often lack the training to make them viable candidates.

Many former prisoners face systemic challenges inherent in Delaware’s parole system, organizers say, as well as prejudices that continue even after they have paid their debt to society. Within three years of release, 60 percent of Delaware’s inmates will be rearrested, reconvicted or reimprisoned. Delaware has one of the highest recidivism rates in the United States. Event attendees will take part in an immersive experience, have a chance to debrief, discuss barriers to reentry and reintegration, and learn how to support newly released prisoners as they return to their communities. 

Volunteers from the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware, The Way Home, Partnership in Reentry Coalition of Delaware, Link of Love, ACLU-DE Smart Justice Ambassadors and the Delaware Center for Justice. Several service providers and justice-involved community members will help facilitate the simulation and debriefing.

To register, visit sdarj.org/event/reentry-simulation.