The View from the Outside Looking In
It’s hard to talk about something you have no experience with.
When people talk about recidivism, they often see it as someone who “didn’t learn their lesson,” or, as some like to say, “He must like prison.”
However, I look at the same thing and see something entirely different.
Recidivism, to me, looks like someone who sat in prison without any real opportunity to prepare for their return to society. Someone who may have wanted to change but didn’t have the tools, access, or roadmap to do so.
Rehabilitation or Just Doing Time?
The idea of prison as a place of rehabilitation has become nonexistent. For many, the reality of incarceration is simply doing time and counting the days until release. Prison programs that would’ve taught them a trade are being cut, and College courses are being removed. If they couldn’t find meaningful employment before incarceration, what are the chances they’ll find it after incarceration? The person is older, has a felony record, and a gap on his resume. So when that person comes home, they’re often less employable than when they went in.
What “Meaningful Employment” Really Means
What is meaningful employment? It’s a job that pays a person enough money actually to support themselves. Let’s take New York City, for example. The average one-bedroom apartment in the ghetto runs around $1,600 a month. The minimum wage in NYC is $15 an hour.
Now do the math — that’s about $2,400 a month before taxes, assuming full-time work. After taxes, transportation, food, and necessities, that person can barely survive. Having a roof over your head is essential, but at that rate, even a full-time worker can’t live on their own.
The Setup Nobody Talks About
In my opinion, it is an indirect setup. Keep the cost of living high, keep the salaries low, and then watch how people respond. Until we fix the conditions that create recidivism — lack of opportunity, lack of education, and lack of real second chances — we’ll keep blaming the individual for what the system designed.