for The Center for Returning Citizens

Abstract

After speaking with multiple organizations about problems that face society today, one problem stood out: mass incarceration and recidivism. While talking to J. Jondhi Harrell of The Center for Returning Citizens, he expressed concern with people re-entering jail or prison once they’ve been released because they fall back into the same habits they had prior to their incarceration. Without change or a solid foundation, returning citizens will shortly thereafter potentially return to their lifestyle of bad choices.

In order to combat this problem, our team is suggesting Fixing Foundations: an interactive website that offers returning citizens information and support to help they create a new routine and lower their chances of recidivism. By providing returning citizens with job opportunities, support groups, professional advancement, and overall assistance with improving their lives, they will be able to help their families and give back to their communities through their new skill sets and routines.

Organization Description and History

The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC) is a Philadelphia based organization whose mission is to “attack mass incarceration on different levels.” TCRC is committed to battling the negative effects that mass incarceration inflicts on individuals, families, and communities. The organization was founded, staffed, and is supported by returning citizens, and individuals who are dedicated to the idea of transformation. TCRC embraces hard work, an obligation to family, community activism, ethical behavior, and social awareness.

TCRC serves over 600 returning citizens in the Philadelphia area, either at their Intake and Counseling Center on Germantown Avenue, or their new Training Center on Girard Avenue. These programs include mentoring and providing counseling for children of incarcerated parents, after-school drop in programs, and social and educational opportunities, all to assist in returning citizen’s transition back into society. TCRC offers returning citizens the opportunity to develop life plans and create a pathway to success. By looking at opportunities in employment, education, housing, and money management, The Center for Returning Citizens is allowing for individuals to mend the foundation of their lives that was broken at the point of incarceration.

The difficulty of transitioning back into society after being incarcerated is no easy task, “it’s a lifetime procedure”, says J. Jondhi Harrell, TCRC’s Founder/Executive Director, “Our program is transformation and transition.” The transformation of returning citizens is necessary to become a well-rounded person, and the diversity in programs that TCRC offers, allows for returning citizens in all situations to benefit. “In order for you to address what’s wrong in the life of a person who’s transitioning, you have to look at the entire life” said Harrell, which is the reason for the diversity of direct services such as, TCRC KIDZ Drop-in Center, case management work, educational workshops, transitional housing, and many others.

“We need to be more effective as storytellers. That’s our focus for 2016,” said Harrell. Their digital media presence consists of social media, specifically Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. TCRC uses videos to tell stories of returning citizens and advocacy, as well as press releases and speaking engagements that get media attention. They also have a blog, forums, newsletters, and interviews, all providing evidence of the problem and how it can be fixed. While their website has many helpful pages, it is sometimes tough to navigate through and thats where we hope FixingFoundations.org can help.

TCRC has a lot of plans for the future as well. They just recently created a new page on their website called “Philly Lawyers for Returning Citizens,” which advertises lawyers in different categories like civil, appeal, family court, and others. As they receive more money from grants and donations their main goal is to expand into new offices in different places like south and west Philly. Along with expanding in Philadelphia, TCRC recently partnered with incarcerated nation to create a center in Harlem. Their goal for the next few years is to set up TCRC circles and offices in Pittsburgh and New York, working with different organizations to make a larger impact. Recently TCRC has began working with “I’m Free”, Redeem, Frontline Dads, and the Quakers to attack incarceration on different levels. As TCRC continues to grow into different cities, our hope for Fixing Foundations will be to facilitate that growth by setting up clients in different areas and then slowly expanding their offices into those areas for direct help.

Problem/Opportunity Statement

Returning citizens are at a high risk for recidivism. The negative impacts of incarceration can lead to a deterioration of skills and knowledge that are necessary to live a healthy life. By creating FixingFoundations.org and providing returning citizens with resources to create a solid foundation, our website will keep returning citizens out of prison and on a pathway to success.

Beneficiaries

With returning citizens carrying the burden of a criminal record, one major issue for them once they are released from prison is employment, given the fact that many places just simply won’t hire them based on their history. Giving these disenfranchised citizens an opportunity for professional advancement is sometimes all they need to get back on their feet. Also, with the resources the website will provide for its users, they are guaranteed to learn skills that are not only necessary to be hired, but to also function and survive in the workplace, learning how to use computer programs to create word documents, or even learning about certification processes to operate vehicles or learn valuable trades for employment. This will assure that they aren’t limited to job opportunities in one field, expanding the possibilities for their employment overall. Also, creating their personalized profiles, producing their own material for the website’s blog, updating it frequently with their success marks and and actively participating on this digital platform, will also act as a technological stepping-stone for them, as they will be accustomed to using a collaborative, socialized digital platform in which society bases its main form of communication today.

Other groups that this website will greatly benefit are families of returning citizens and their communities, as well as potential employers. Not only will it provide its users with resources and opportunities to make a living and provide for their families, which they could not do while incarcerated, or with the burden of a criminal record and no professional skills, but it will also address another major issue with mass incarceration: recidivism. This could mean that more mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters will be there for their families. Philadelphia has the highest incarceration rate out of the U.S.’s ten largest cities, even bearing visits from Pope Francis to an overcrowded prison this past September. The website we are proposing can potentially make a huge impact on the communities that many of these citizens come from, and break the cycle of re-incarceration in our city. Why not give someone an opportunity to actually “correct” their life, as opposed to labeling them, leaving them out to dry, and watching them end up in “correctional” facilities again?

Our government is constantly under pressure for our criminal justice system, and this website will not only benefit these individual citizens, and employers, as it gives them a stable opportunity to make an honest living, but it prevents them from resorting to other forms of making money, or from their previous life, in which they feed the monster of the criminal justice system and end up right back where they were. This website would benefit the criminal justice system as a whole.

Audience & User Base

Since this project is aimed at fixing the foundation of returning citizens, they will be the main audience for this web-based platform. The second-most important group would be potential employers, who can view the users’ profiles, see their qualifications, and how they’ve progressed since returning from jail. Also, to learn more about their story, and act upon their efforts to make an honest living. These two groups are the most important audiences, as they will fuel the entire project and its usage. Another audience group would be anyone who has the ability to show multiple forms of support towards these returning citizen users. This “support” ranges from donating money directly to the returning citizen, while learning about how they’ll use it, what their long and short term goals are, and what their specific needs are to help their specific situation, or simply giving them kind words of encouragement on their new pathway to success. Those showing support can also hire users temporarily for a service they may need, or work they need to be done, since there will be an abundance of users willing to work if given the chance, with a wide range of abilities and qualifications.

Project Description

Evidence Supporting the Problem:

• According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections 2013 recidivism report, approximately 6 in 10 released inmates are rearrested or reincarcerated within three years of release from prison. This gives returning citizens a small window of opportunity to change their habits and get on a path to success. Many of these individuals try and “jump start” their lives up as soon as they are released, taking short cuts that lead them to form the same habits that got them incarcerated in the first place.

• Recently, about 6,000 inmates were released early from prison, the largest one-time release of federal prisoners in history. Two-thirds of them will go to halfway houses and home confinement before being put on supervised release, allowing them to start readjusting as citizens in society. The Sentencing Commission estimated that an additional 8,550 inmates will be eligible for release within the next year.

• Evidence suggests that felony convictions or time in prison has an independent impact that further lowers the employment prospects of ex-offenders. Researchers for the Center for Economic and Policy Research have identified that time behind bars can lead to deterioration in worker’s “human capital”, including formal education, on-the-job experience, and even “soft skills” like punctuality or customer relations. Incarceration can also lead to the loss of social networks that can help workers find jobs and impart a stigma that makes employers less likely to hire ex-offenders.

Our Proposal:

FixingFoundations.org is an interactive website that will facilitate returning citizens, and all those effected by incarceration, with a variation of opportunities for support. Working with The Center for Returning Citizens in Philadelphia, our website will give individuals the necessary resources to create new routines and fix the foundation that was broken at the moment of incarceration.

Deliverables

Our main deliverable will be the website, FixingFoundations.org, but Fixing Foundations would need to hire employees and work with TCRC to produce the content and organize the support groups associated with the website.

To elaborate on the functions of each web page, we have broken down features of the website and how they will benefit returning citizens:

• The home page will consist of a news feed displaying individuals progress, stories through video or writing, and updates on opportunities around Philadelphia. In order to sign up and create an account with FixingFoundations.org all you need is a username, an email account, and a personal password. Individuals can choose to create a profile or simply join to show support of returning citizens. If users choose to create a profile, they will have the ability to share their story as a returning citizen, supporter, family member, or community activist. The profile page option will contain updates of all member’s profiles and options to click and view specific profiles that look interesting, relatable, or if one thinks they can lend a helping hand. It will include an individual description, posts of stories, and updates on transition and transformation. On their profile they can add resumes, certifications, education, abilities, or anything they think would interest potential employers or supporters. Also, describing individual goals will be a key part of the profile page to show individuals where they want to get to, and when they do, how they got there. Everyone has their own story, but by putting a face and a name to those stories their influence can be much more effective.
• Individuals will have the opportunity to sign up for the Fixing Foundations newsletter that gets sent out every week. The newsletter will contain important information on upcoming events, support groups in the area, job opportunities, opportunities for certifications, seminars, advocacy rallies, and anything relevant to the members of the website. The video story page will consist of individuals who decide to share their stories of successes, failures, and their own transition back into society after incarceration, as well as advocacy videos in order to inspire change. Along with videos there will be a section that contains letters from those currently incarcerated with their own stories and plans for the future after reentrance into society.
• Fixing Foundation’s support page will be a direct link to opportunities throughout the Philadelphia area. This page will ensure that all members are given the correct resources to live a positive and support filled life, not getting back into old routines that got them incarcerated in the first place. Fixing Foundations will offer direct support to returning citizens through collaboration with other organizations, or opportunities offered directly from members of the website. There will be links to different websites that specifically work towards finding jobs for returning citizens and lists of individual companies and organizations that have hired, and showed support of returning citizens in the past. We will offer case management help and lists of endorsed lawyers who work directly with Fixing Foundations and other organizations. This list will be carefully selected in order to ensure a lawyer who truly shares the same affinity as us.
• Updates of degree and certification programs will enable returning citizens to find jobs easier, as well as apprenticeship programs and occupational licenses such as barbers, plumbers, contractors, carpenters, etc. Aside from support related to work, it will also give information on basic skill training programs, including speaking and verbal communication, math, and reading and writing. Our Fixing Foundation digital program will offer programs to help citizens become competent in things like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as helping individuals get connected online through websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and HandUp. The Fixing Foundations support group meets weekly at a set locations to discuss with and support returning citizens, family members, and anyone affected by incarceration. Here individuals will directly share their stories, struggles, and triumphs, all working towards a more mentally stable life.
• Our Fixing Foundation map will give users information about places that can help them facilitate their journey back to everyday life in society. It will give times and locations of places that contain free Wi-Fi and computer use, libraries, food shelters, homeless shelters, churches, youth support organizations, support groups and programs, and any relevant organizations that can strengthen member’s foundations.

Budget

Website Development

• The overall cost of creating the website is $32,000. Although some other non-profits may be able to create their own websites internally, FixingFoundations.org is on the higher end of the spectrum of website pricing because of the development of user profiles for all members and the amount of web pages we will need for the separate areas of the website. According to Plato Website Design, the cost of our design will be between $7,650 to $13,750, the addition of user profiles will cost between $4,500 and $6,500, and the database and management of the website will cost between $10,000 to $20,000. These estimated prices will include a responsive design, forums, social media integration, advanced security, social communities, custom programming, and other high tech features.

Employee Salaries

• After looking at the National Center for Charitable Statistics for employee salaries, we chose to pay the Manager $50,000, two project coordinators $36,000 each, and an assistant $30,000 per year. Although this is on the lower spectrum of non-profit salaries, we want to be reasonable because the money should mainly be going back to the returning citizens and non profit salaries tend to be lower.

Video Production

• According to Hinge Marketing and their company’s pricing for video production, it is $2,500 per 2–3 minute video. These costs goes to hiring a professional and high quality team, editing, and travel. Since the videos would mainly be about users of FixingFoundations.org, we would not need to pay the talent which lowers the cost. We plan on making 10 videos, which totals $25,000 for the entire campaign.

Overall Budget Needed for Year 1: $209,000

Success Criteria

With our objective of helping returning citizens fix their foundation for re-entry into society, whether digitally, professionally, or financially, the main criteria for the project’s success would be the users’ profiles remaining updated, and for the “success story” video advocacy to be displayed with actual success stories. This will showcase returning citizens who have used the platform to their benefit to tell their stories to the world and convince potential audience members that our organization can change their lives drastically. As we had some inspiration from HandUp.org, one effective way to mark the success of this project visually is for users’ profiles to mark their progress. This can be displayed on a bar-graphic, showing their goals, targeted financial support, or even the user updating their blog & documenting their experience of re-entry in a fashion that models the “tech-savvy” culture we’re accustomed to.

Another way to mark the success of our organization would be based on the incarceration rate in Philadelphia, and the recent success of employers, who have financially benefitted from gaining trust and giving chances to those returning from jail. Specifically, in terms of change in the incarceration rate in Philadelphia, it would be the rate of those who return to jail and how many people we may have helped stay out of jail. Since it’s a Philadelphia-based organization, with the highest incarceration rate of the ten largest cities in America, the only way to really measure long-term success of users is tracking the percentage of users who have gained employment, the percentage of re-incarceration in the neighborhoods that employers and users come from, and the amount of money that they have individually received or have earned as a result of using the platform.

Appendices

Twitter List:

• https://twitter.com/EvanCainAtSJU/lists/fixingfoundationslist

Stakeholder Interviews:

• Casey: Youth Sentencing and Re-Entry Program
• Chris: The Center for Returning Citizens
• Evan: POWER Philadelphia

My Attempt at Making Friends on Tinder

Introduction

One day last semester, my boyfriend informed me that he downloaded Tinder… for a class project. The goal of his project was to break an online social norm and see how people reacted, so he chose Tinder and decided to see how girls would react when he told them he was just trying to make friends using the app. His results were hilarious, so feel free to read his article here first.

Fast forward to today>> A semester later, I unknowingly took the same class and the same professor as my boyfriend, which meant that I also had to break a social norm. There was only one option in mind for what I had to do: Tinder. If Ryan could get the results he did as a guy, I couldn’t even imagine how guys would react when they found out I had a boyfriend. For anyone who is not a 20-somthing-year-old girl who has not had to *pleasure* of dealing with 20-something-year-old boys, let me give you a little insight: boys can be creepy and do not know boundaries when it comes to relationships, but I’m sure that will come out later on in their responses.

Methods

I originally decided to use Tinder because Ryan had used Tinder, but I was also extremely curious to see some of the reactions that guys had when I casually mentioned having a boyfriend.

When I set up my Tinder profile, I put up three pictures: one of me standing next to a Lilly Pultizer jeep, one with a friends, and:

(I eventually had to change my main picture to the one of my friend and I instead of me with the Jeep because then all guys wanted to talk about was cars, but that’s besides the point.)

I set the age range to 18–25 and the distance to 50 miles away. The first time I used Tinder, I kept swiping right and never left to get the most matches, but then Tinder informed me I would have to pay if I wanted to swipe right more.

Over the course of 2days, I had about 10 conversations with guys, casually slipping in the fact that I had a boyfriend to get a reaction out of them. As you will see, I either mentioned something they had in common with Ryan or called them out for flirting with me/using the app wrong. I knew from Ryan’s experiment that you can’t start off by saying you have a boyfriend or else no one would respond, so I waited until we were at least somewhat into a conversation before mentioning anything. Out of the 10 conversations, here were the best results…

Results

Guy #1: “I would try MeetMe”

This guy was the first person I talked to and he really “taught me” how to use Tinder the right way by being blatantly honest and writing me a novel about how I am the only person taken on Tinder. It can be difficult to play this dumb and pretend you have no idea what you’re doing, but that was necessary for this conversation.

“I guess I’m part of the 1% then”

Guy #2: More Interested in The Office

This guy was so much more interested in The Office (it was one of our mutual interests) that he completely brushed off the fact that I said I had a boyfriend. Maybe it’s that he didn’t actually read what I wrote or he just really loves The Office, but I thought it was odd that he didn’t acknwledge it at all.

Guy #3: “idc not gonna stop talkin to u and shit”

Guy #3 was the epitome of “Just because there’s a goalie doesn’t mean you can’t score. He got a little TMI towards the end with how people never swipe right to him, I didn’t have the heart to break it to him that I just swiped right because I was swiping right to everyone

UPDATE: He messaged me again weeks later and asked if I was single (Like he really had a shot the first time pssh *insert sassy girl emoji here*).

Guy #4: No Response from the Frat Boy

A frat boy who isn’t rapey or preppy?! What a catch! I actually have one of those, so on to the next one, right? He might not be rapey or preppy but he was obviously not happy about the boyfriend because he never responded again.

Guy #5: Not supposed to be flirting

This boy thought I was playing dumb and joking (as I basically was, he just couldn’t know that) and said he couldn’t tell if I was being sarcastic or not. Instead of telling him I had a boyfriend, I just told him I thought he was usin the app wrong and that he might scare people away. I’m not sure why he kept talkin to me after I told him I was just trying to make friends, but he did for a while. After I stopped responding, he messaged me “Hey again.” I couldn’t bring myself to continue a conversation that was going nowhere.

Analysis & Discussion

As pointed out by multiple guys, Tinder is not used for making friends, it’s used for friends with benefits, romantic relationships, and random hookups. I was apparently the only taken person on Tinder, making me a minority in the world of online “dating,” if you can even call it that.

As a few guys pointed out too, the app is purely used to rate people based on their attractiveness. Yes, some people read the guy’s bios, but for the most part people are looking at the other person’s pictures and chosing whether or not they would want to hook up with them. I swiped right to everyone, so I guess everyone I matched with thought I thought they were attractive. Oh how wrong they were!

Compared to Ryan’s project, besides the one extremely aggressive girl, I realized that most guys do not care if a girl is single or not when they have intentions of talking or hooking up with her. Maybe it was just the guys that I was talking to, but it was a trend among the guys of Tinder to continue a flirty conversation or try and make plans even after I say I have a boyfriend.

I’m glad I decided to use Tinder for the social norm project because it showed me how important it is to be educated about what is and what is not acceptable online. In general, Tinder is used as a hook up app and that’s the way it should be used. Anyone on Tinder without that purpose is with me in the 1% and confusing everyone else swiping right to us. It’s extremely important to me that I do not embarrass myself publicly, so knowing the reputation of Tinder and other apps is key to achieving that goal. Tinder is one of the few apps where embarassment kind of remains between two people, so watching out for more public platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook, are extremely important, too.