‘They still call us drosters’: performing the memory of maroons and slavery with formerly-incarcerated men in Cape Town

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-460
Author(s):  
Javier Ernesto Perez
Keyword(s):  
Cape Town ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Incarcerated Men

Formerly Incarcerated Men’s Negotiation of Family Support

2020 ◽  
pp. 219-234
Author(s):  
Johnna Christian
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Familial Support ◽  
Incarcerated Men ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Research And Policy

Research about prisoner reentry has identified an assortment of needs for formerly incarcerated men. In addition to concerns such as finding employment, securing housing, and complying with supervision requirements, they must navigate family relationships that may have been strained prior to incarceration, and are further challenged by the separation imposed by confinement. Paradoxically, these family relationships that pose challenges also hold great promise to mitigate some of the other hardships posed by reintegration. Family members often provide support and assistance that is not readily available through other channels: a place to sleep, transportation, job leads, meals, and encouragement. Yet, the provision and receipt of instrumental and emotional support requires substantial negotiation of fluid and shifting relationship dynamics. Emotional attachments therefore become entangled with instrumental needs, the availability of specific resources, and willingness to share these resources. Through analysis of in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated men in an urban Northeastern city, this chapter examines how they identify potential avenues of familial support, how they balance and maximize resources gained from family members, and how they manage strains in family relationships. Research and policy implications for understanding both the benefits and limitations of family support for formerly incarcerated men are discussed.

scholarly journals Navigating post-prison life. Social positioning and agency in unstable circumstances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Sieferle
Keyword(s):  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Social Navigation ◽  
Prison Life ◽  
Social Positioning ◽  
The World ◽  
Incarcerated Men

People that are released from prison experience 'life outside' as unpredictable and insecure. They are faced with stigmatization, poverty and feelings of alienation from the 'world outside.' Based on ethnographic research in the field of post-prison life, this paper asks how formerly incarcerated men act and position themselves within and around uncertain circumstances that characterize post-prison life. The paper introduces the concept of 'social navigation' as an epistemological tool for approaching post-prison life ethnographically. In doing so, it shows the potential of the concept of social navigation in understanding actor's social positioning and agency within unstable sociocultural landscapes and within a disrupted sociocultural order.

Associations Between Interpersonal Violence, Psychological Distress, and Suicidal Ideation Among Formerly Incarcerated Men and Women

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052093304
Author(s):  
Madeleine Newman ◽  
Lisa Fedina ◽  
Boyoung Nam ◽  
Jordan DeVylder ◽  
Binta Alleyne-Green
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Violence Exposure ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Incarcerated Men

Survivors of interpersonal violence are at increased risk of negative mental health outcomes; however, scant research has explored the relationship between violence exposure and mental health symptoms among formerly incarcerated individuals. This cross-sectional survey study investigates the demographic characteristics and mental health symptoms (i.e., psychological distress and suicidal ideation) associated with interpersonal violence exposure, including physical and sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, and sexual violence perpetrated by prison employees in a sample of formerly incarcerated men and women, with the aim that the findings both deepen the understanding of the effects of sexual violence exposure and help inform prison and jail policies. Surveys were administered to English-speaking adults ages 18 and older to recruit a sample of adults who were formerly incarcerated ( N = 201). Questions on the survey included questions regarding demographic details, sexual violence exposure, mental health symptoms, and time incarcerated. Findings show that higher levels of sexual violence exposure were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress and reporting of suicidal ideation. Results also suggest that higher levels of income and education and younger age were significantly associated with sexual violence perpetrated by prison employees. In addition, most forms of interpersonal violence were independently associated with psychological distress and suicidal ideation in this population. The findings make recommendations for prison and jail policies to include targeted treatment for individuals with sexual victimization histories, to mitigate the risk of revictimization and appropriately treat adverse mental health outcomes from sexual victimization within and outside the confines of incarceration.

What Matters to Formerly Incarcerated Men? Looking Beyond Recidivism as a Measure of Successful Reintegration

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-509
Author(s):  
Tia S. Andersen ◽  
Deena A. Isom Scott ◽  
Hunter M. Boehme ◽  
Sarah King ◽  
Toniqua Mikell
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Former Offenders ◽  
Incarcerated Men ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Recovering Addicts

This study explored how men recently released from prison conceptualized successful reentry. Qualitative analysis of 12 in-depth life history interviews with formerly incarcerated men revealed that they defined success beyond the literature’s typical focus on criminal behavior avoidance and future criminal justice system contact. The study found several interconnected definitions of success. Central to participants’ conceptions were connection to legitimate employment, ownership, or entrepreneurship, using past experiences to assist other former offenders or recovering addicts with their problems, and the achievement of heteronormative masculine expectations. The implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.

The Runaround: Punishment, Welfare, and Poverty Survival after Prison

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M Halushka
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Public Assistance ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Transitional Housing ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Former Prisoners ◽  
Incarcerated Men ◽  
Housing Facilities

AbstractBased on 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork and 45 in-depth interviews with formerly-incarcerated men, this article explores how former prisoners navigate criminal justice and welfare bureaucracies in their daily lives. Formerly-incarcerated men must repeatedly engage with parole, public assistance agencies, transitional housing facilities, and community-based service providers to maintain freedom and access food, shelter, and rehabilitative services. Accessing resources requires the men simultaneously to manage multiple, overlapping entanglements across a fragmented network of bureaucracies. This runaround exacerbates the stress of poverty, breeds distrust of state authorities, and, in some cases, precipitates recidivism. Former prisoners learned how to cope with the runaround by treating systems navigation as a full-time occupation, but these skills did not translate into long-term economic security. Most study participants recurrently cycled between low-wage jobs, transitional housing facilities, and public assistance programs for years after release. This article illustrates the need to theorize prisoner reentry as a process that unfolds across a network of criminal justice and welfare bureaucracies and demonstrates how formerly-incarcerated men experience citizenship not only through coercive encounters with the criminal justice system but also through their simultaneous entanglements with safety-net bureaucracies.

Perceived Social Ties and Mental Health Among Formerly Incarcerated Men in New York City

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 1843-1860
Author(s):  
Pamela Valera ◽  
Javier F. Boyas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
New York ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
New York State ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Support ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Never Married ◽  
Incarcerated Men

The incarcerated population has been substantially burdened by syndemic productions involving mental health illness and substance abuse problems. The present analysis describes the mental health symptoms of a nonprobability sample of 225 formerly incarcerated men and establishes the types of perceived support they received during incarceration as predictors of their psychological well-being upon release. The men were between 35 and 67 years of age; the mean age was 47.27 ( SD = 6.64), and Blacks and Latinos were about equally represented. Most respondents did not finish high school, were unemployed, convicted of a nonviolent crime, and were housed in a New York state prisons. The majority were also single (never married) and had children. The findings indicate that greater social, community, and spiritual support were correlated with lower mental health scores. The strongest predictor was perceived social support. Access and use of social resources, including social support, are important factors in influencing the psychological functioning among formerly incarcerated men.

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Special Housing Units by Men Released From New York Correctional Facilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 466-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Valera ◽  
Cheryl L. Kates-Benman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Solitary Confinement ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Peace Of Mind ◽  
Incarcerated Men ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Housing Units

This small, mixed-methods study sought to understand the use of special housing units among formerly incarcerated men. In the present study, 110 participants were placed in solitary confinement, ranging from ≤30 days to 20 years, with a mean of 2 years ( SD = 2.55). These men ranged in age from 35 to 67 years, with a mean age of 46 years. Years of incarceration ranged from less than 30 days to 34 years; the mean number of years incarcerated was 4 ( SD = 6.39). Of the 110 participants, qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 men to explore their experiences during time spent in solitary. The qualitative themes that emerged from the study were getting special housing units might be used for punishment, getting used to solitary, and getting solitary might mean peace of mind. Personalized reentry plans for men placed in special housing units facilities are urgently needed.

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