Reentry Simulation

Reentry Simulation

A free interactive event, the Reentry Simulation provides a glimpse into the challenges facing those returning from incarceration. During the simulation, each participant role-plays the part of an individual recently released from jail or prison who is attempting to successfully reenter society. 

Participants receive a fictional backstory and then navigate a month in the life of that person. Each “month” consists of four 15-minute “weeks” during which participants interact with various stations that represent steps to reentry. For example, they may have to get a state identification, attend mandatory counseling, apply for food stamps, or report to their parole officer. Volunteers staff the stations representing different offices and agencies with which participants need to interact. 

Through this brief look at what’s involved in starting over after jail or prison, participants experience the situations encountered by returning citizens on a daily basis and gain a fuller understanding of the obstacles people face as they rebuild their lives. 

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"I was a volunteer who ran the job employment booth for those recently released from incarceration. It was very eye-opening to witness the way participants struggled to make ends meet with the time and money given to them. There were instances in which I wanted to use discretion to pay people despite them not being at my booth long enough to get paid. I know that in the real-world that would not be allowed. However, witnessing the distress that participants were in made me more empathetic towards people reentering society.” - Coraima Camacho ‘23

“It was an eye-opening and valuable experience. Even being a staff at one of the stations you could see the amount of stress and burden that being previously incarcerated holds on a person,” said Jacky Leon-Flores ‘22 who volunteered as a staff member at a plasma donor station in last year’s Reentry Simulation.

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