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photo galleries >The JOBS Project | more photos are available from Harvey Finkle
The JOBS project:
A re-entry
program of the Philadelphia Prison System
((Please see picture galleries below.)
INTRODUCTION
Prisoner reentry, the process of leaving prison and returning to society, has
become a prominent issue both in Philadelphia and nationwide. Throughout the
United States and in Philadelphia, incarceration rates have steadily risen over
the past-twenty five years, and the number of prisoners released back into the
community has increased proportionally. In Philadelphia, the daily population
of the Philadelphia Prison System has experienced unprecedented growth, increasing
from about 4,000 in the late 1980’s to over 8,000 in 2005. All of these
inmates will eventually be released from prison and will reenter society.
Ex-offenders face numerous barriers to successful reentry. Employers are hesitant to hire ex-offenders. Safe, permanent and affordable housing is very hard to find. Adequate health care is often inaccessible and family members and friends are reluctant to resume old relationships. The challenges facing released prisoners are not diminishing and programs are being developed all across the country to assist inmates with the transition from prison to the community. One such program is the JOBS Project that was introduced into the Philadelphia Prison System in 2003.
The JOBS Project is designed to help sentenced inmates prepare for their return to their families and communities when they are released from prison. Inmates in the JOBS Project live in Therapeutic Living Environments where they learn to reside together harmoniously. They participate in vocational training programs, including Building Maintenance, Environmental Maintenance, and Customer Service, offered by the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service. They attend Life Skills Workshops including Anger Management, Domestic Violence, GED Preparation and Parenting. They also participate in Job Readiness Workshops that prepare them to get and hold a job when they are released from prison.
Each inmate in the JOBS Project works closely with a Philadelphia Prison System Social Worker to complete a Discharge Plan that includes information on the inmate’s educational, medical and employment history, reentry plans that focus on obligations, responsibilities and support systems, as well as short and long-term goals.
During their time in prison inmates in the JOBS Project are assigned to work with a Reentry Partner. Reentry Partner Case Managers provide a transition from the prison to the community. They help inmates prepare for their release from prison by assisting them to get ID, find a job, a place to live, to get health care and to reunite with their families. JOBS Project Reentry Partners include the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Impact Services, the Diversity Apprenticeship Program, Centro Pedro Claver, and the Philadelphia Alive Center for Transformation Entrepreneurial Training Program.
For the past year photographer Harvey Finkle has documented the struggles that men and women in the JOBS Project experience while in prison and when they return to their homes and their communities. Inmates and ex-offenders were photographed and interviewed immediately before and after their release from prison to explore their feelings while in prison and after their release.
The primary goal of this project is to convey the hopes and aspirations and the needs and desires of inmates and ex-offenders who will ultimately be our neighbors once again. In addition, we want to portray the programs being offered to inmates participating in the JOBS Project that help them rehabilitate while they are in prison and the services being provided in the community to help ex-offenders successfully reenter society.
As you look at the photographs and read the interviews remember that the burden of prisoner reentry is carried not only by individual ex-offenders, but by their families and their community as well. We all need to do our part to make it possible for ex-offenders to come home and to stay home.
We want to thank Harvey Finkle for his remarkable work. And we want to convey our appreciation to David Rudovsky, attorney for the inmates, Leon King, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Prison System, and the exhibits sponsor, the Jackson v Hendrick Fund.
Irv Rosenstein
Consultant
Jackson v Hendrick Fund
The Participants
(Each of these images links to a gallery of more images of each participant,
as well as interviews of each participant.)
The images
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