Simulation helps community members understand challenges after incarceration

Community members, educators, employers and others are encouraged to learn how individuals, after serving prison time, face a multiple challenges reentering the community and finding employment during a reentry simulation event held later this month.

Inside Out Reentry Community, an Iowa City nonprofit, is holding the event from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 19, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 140 Gathering Place Lane, in Iowa City. During the first 90 minutes of the event, participants will be given a fictional identity of an individual attempting to reenter the community following a criminal conviction.

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Participants will navigate through “multiple difficult tasks” and gain insight into the hardships that come with parole. Following the stimulation, organization officials will have a 30-minute debrief and panel discussion, featuring firsthand experiences and stories of individuals who have gone through this process.

This is a public outreach event for the community and is free for participants. However, space is limited and an RSVP is necessary.

Michelle Heinz, executive director of Inside Out Reentry Community, said the organization is anticipating about 50 people will attend this year’s simulation. There still is space left for individuals to register, but it is filling up quickly, so she suggested signing up as soon as possible.

The simulations are an “eye-opening experience,” Heinz said.

“Individuals who attend often comment on how challenging it is and how it helps them gain a greater understanding of the obstacles that people face,” Heinz added.

Heinz said it’s “especially impactful” after the simulation when participants hear directly from the formerly incarcerated individuals as they share their personal struggles experienced with reentry. After past events, they’ve had educators, employers and other community partners reach out to them to form partnerships and share resources.

After participating in a simulation, Richard Grugin, Inside Out volunteer and simulation facilitator, said it was a “powerful experience that gave me an understanding and empathy for the many barriers anyone returning from incarceration has to face”

More than 5,000 individuals are released from Iowa prisons every year, according to Inside Out officials. These individuals face multiple barriers upon reentry, including obtaining the necessary documents like identification and Social Security cards, finding suitable housing and employment. It also can be difficult to access treatment, health care and education. Without support, these barriers create a difficult reentry process for many.

Inside Out serves people returning to Johnson County after being incarcerated. The organization also works with individuals in prison throughout the state to help them develop reentry plans, regardless of where they plan to live after release. Returning to and becoming an active member of society after being in prison is difficult and Inside Out strives to support individuals, as well as, spread awareness of these hardships through events like this one.

RSVP by April 12. Anyone interested in attending should email hello@insideoutreentry.com or call (319) 338-7996.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com