According to Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll, the Pathways to Community program is partially funded by a grant from the Office of the Attorney General.

Pathways, which operates out of a building adjacent to the prison, is a collaboration of Public Health and Criminal Justice in Flagstaff, “a comprehensive attempt to support individuals along their journey to recovery and re-engagement with their communities.” is designed to be

This is according to Erica Shaw, Division Manager of Recovery and Resilience at Coconino County Health and Human Services.

“To me, this program is a beautiful link between public health and public safety that improves the overall well-being of our community by taking care of everyone who lives here,” Shaw said. “Even if you have never been involved in the criminal justice system, we aim to benefit from this program because we care about all of the people who live here. Ultimately, we all benefit when it happens.”

Pathways to Community begins with a voluntary in-prison needs assessment.

“We do these comprehensive assessments to identify what the barriers are: what is the backstory, what are the social determinants of health, what is the history when these people are incarcerated? — to help us understand what services they want: Are they interested in treating substance use disorders or other mental health issues? need employment assistance, transportation assistance, housing?” Shaw said. “We are trying to maximize access to much-needed social services, helping people feel human and empowered after a period of incarceration.”

Needs assessments aren’t exactly new to prisons, sheriffs said. What’s new about this program is its immediacy.

“Building adjacency is essential for this,” says Driscoll. “They’re not really getting out. They’re connecting to the service before they even leave the actual campus of the facility. These people who got out of prison are going to move across town to another place.” To, you either have to wait in line or come back the next day for social services. I immediately returned to the company that had gotten me into trouble.

When you arrive at Pathways, you’re basically walking into a large, mostly open room. Not much to see. There are old carpets on the floor and traces of renovation in the corners. The walls are plain and pale. It looks like most fluorescent-lit office spaces in buildings across the country. One desk faces the door with someone sitting behind it. Next to her is a folding table piled with flyers and resource information for those getting out of prison. However, the Pathways facility’s current crude appearance does not reflect its effectiveness.

About a month and a half after the program launched, over 140 people were evaluated and connected to the service. Less than 2% of these people have reoffended or returned to prison. Program leaders rate it as a success.

“It was kind of a makeshift space while we were renovating the building,” Shaw said. Build relationships with people and them. We have seen many successful cases of liberated people being brought to treatment. ”

Driscoll is also happy to share these stories.

“In just the first few weeks of Pathways, people were reconnecting with their families and getting transportation back to other communities because there was no other way to get home. Go crazy — housing is a hoot I had a job interview Woman needed a job and got an interview [through Pathways] and got a job. ”

A location upgrade is also in progress. The renovation plan is based on the lived experience of people released from prison who are personally familiar with the process.

“Returning to the community is really uncomfortable,” Shaw said. I think it’s also very important to provide a soft place for people to feel grounded, supported, seen and recognized. ”

She wants to fill the current space with soft seating, murals painted by artists with lived experience, and layouts that support an overall sense of welcome and inclusion.

There are areas designed for conversation that connect people to therapy and social safety nets—no dividing force of heavy desks. Also important is access to cell phone charging stations and transportation.

“A lot of people don’t have their chargers with them when they go out. They can’t hail a ride and they’re stuck there,” Shaw said. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time when I couldn’t, but it’s a very specific anxiety and it’s actually palpable under the best of circumstances. As we start to scale our operations, it is very rewarding despite our limited resources.”

Being released from prison is an experience most people are not used to. So in creating a route for incarcerated people to return to their communities, Coconino County turned to leaders who understand the process first-hand.

Program manager Amy Bacon began her social services career almost six years ago as a peer support specialist.

“As someone with lived experience, when Erica first called me and offered me this position, I immediately started making a list of all the long-term goals I wanted to achieve. , there is a great opportunity to connect with and make a real impact on highly vulnerable people in many ways,” Bacon said.

Bacon brings a clear idea of ​​the program’s future to future plans with practical experience. Funding for the program with an Attorney General’s grant may be the foundation, but people like HHS’s Shaw are confident that as the program grows, it will be funded and more successful. doing.

“My vision is for people to leave this facility and become a conduit to anything they might need when they feel hopeless and terrified and don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Bacon said. “We may not be able to tell them what happens next. It can give you the opportunity to step on the ground, breathe and think.

“We have the opportunity to be that place. When people are in this vulnerable space, this landing space is so specific and so unique to someone coming out of incarceration that we tend to overlook it.” I think. “