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Finding help and hope in a peer-led reentry service hub near a detention centre: A process evaluation

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Listed:
  • Arthur McLuhan
  • Tara Hahmann
  • Cilia Mejia-Lancheros
  • Sarah Hamilton-Wright
  • Guido Tacchini
  • Flora I Matheson

Abstract

When people leave correctional institutions, they face myriad personal, social and structural barriers to reentry, including significant challenges with mental health, substance use, and homelessness. However, there are few reentry programs designed to support people’s health, wellbeing, and social integration, and there are even fewer evaluations of such programs. The purpose of this article is to report the qualitative findings from an early process evaluation of the Reintegration Centre—a peer-led service hub designed to support men on the day they are released from custody. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews and examined quantitative service intake data with 21 men who accessed the Reintegration Centre immediately upon release. Participants encountered significant reentry challenges and barriers to service access and utilization. The data suggest that the peer-led service hub model enhanced the service encounter experience and efficiently and effectively addressed reentry needs through the provision of basic supports and individualized service referrals. Notably, the Reintegration Centre’s proximity to the detention centre facilitated rapid access to essential services upon release, and the peer-support workers affirmed client autonomy and moral worth in the service encounter, fostering mutual respect and trust. Locating reentry programs near bail courts and detention centres may reduce barriers to service access. A peer-led service hub that provides immediate support for basic needs along with individualized service referrals is a promising approach to reentry programs that aim to support post-release health, wellbeing, and social integration. A social system that fosters cross-sectoral collaboration and continuity of care through innovative funding initiatives is vital to the effectiveness and sustainability of such reentry programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Arthur McLuhan & Tara Hahmann & Cilia Mejia-Lancheros & Sarah Hamilton-Wright & Guido Tacchini & Flora I Matheson, 2023. "Finding help and hope in a peer-led reentry service hub near a detention centre: A process evaluation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(2), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0281760
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281760
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Catherine Hu & Jessica Jurgutis & Dan Edwards & Tim O’Shea & Lori Regenstreif & Claire Bodkin & Ellen Amster & Fiona G Kouyoumdjian, 2020. "“When you first walk out the gates…where do [you] go?”: Barriers and opportunities to achieving continuity of health care at the time of release from a provincial jail in Ontario," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Caterina Roman & Jeremy Travis, 2006. "Where will I sleep tomorrow? Housing, homelessness, and the returning prisoner," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 389-418.
    3. Bijan Berenji & Tom Chou & Maria R D'Orsogna, 2014. "Recidivism and Rehabilitation of Criminal Offenders: A Carrot and Stick Evolutionary Game," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, January.
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