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

Arthur McLuhan, Tara Hahmann, Cilia Mejia-Lancheros, Sarah Hamilton-Wright, Guido Tacchini and Flora I Matheson

PLOS ONE, 2023, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-24

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.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281760 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 81760&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0281760

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281760

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().