The mission of our Reentry team revolves around creating a profound and enduring positive influence in the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Through an all-encompassing array of services, we are dedicated to empowering our clients and guiding them on a transformative journey towards a more promising future. Our holistic approach acknowledges the intricate challenges faced by those reentering society, offering educational enrichment, emotional support, career opportunities, and community reintegration to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow.
Meet the Team
Chanthon Bun
After being locked away for over two decades, the world had moved on. I had fears and was unsure of how I would be able to maneuver society and what the social norms were. All It took was a friend to take me out walking with the public. I was blessed to have a great reentry team that helped guide me through my regeneration. I am now a Reentry Coordinator and am able to help, encourage, find resources for, and guide a person that is just coming home.
McArthur Hoang
I have an internal drive to be of service to my community. It took raw determination, drive and a lot of luck for my personal successful reentry. It is only by chance that I am here–I want to remove chance out of the equation for those who are coming home.
Nghiep “Ke” Lam
When I came home, my family and friends didn’t know how to help me or understand the barriers that came with my reentry. I felt lost and helpless. The first 90 days of reentry is critical between a successful or failed reentry. Knowing the challenges all too well, I didn’t want the next person coming home to know there is someone there to help them. It is my means to make amends.
Ana Lapota
I had to say goodbye to someone I considered my brother through a phone screen while he was handcuffed to a hospital bed, and till this day, that memory is embedded in my head. I may not be familiar with the experience of having to reenter society, but I am familiar with the emotions experienced by the person on the receiving end of the phone. Reentry work is important to me because it allows families a fighting chance at being just that - a family. I can’t relate to being formerly incarcerated but within the reentry work we do, it allows me to change the narrative, and help families not have the last memory of their loved one be the same as mine.
Maria Legarda
Reentry after a long period of incarceration is overwhelming. Even with solid reentry plans, reintegrating in a fast-paced, technology-driven 21st century lifestyle is very stressful. My reintegration was complicated because of my immigration status which gave me double supervision; parole and ICE. Despite the stress, I adapted successfully at my own pace with the help of APSC peer support and the mentoring of community members. I’m passionate about my reentry work today because I know how important support is for those coming out of prison and/or detention as they are reentering into society, and I want to be there for the next person coming home
Our Work
Community Immersion
Reentry Navigation
Peer Support
Community Immersion
Community immersion is a construct for reintegration for formerly incarcerated people in a safe manner with community members and organizations. This allows them a space to feel a part of the community. Breaking bread and shared experience are a part of a holistic healing approach and the welcome home process. Through community immersion events, formerly incarcerated gain a better understanding of social norms–a welcoming place that does not come with societal ostracization. While it allows them to have a setting for social interactions to expedite the process for reentry, it also gives them a chance to learn about the resources available to them in a culturally appropriate setting where community knowledge can be spread. Moreover, these events allow for building of social bonds with peers and community members. At APSC, we believe that our FIP loved ones deserve to enjoy happiness, life experiences and memorable moments.
Reentry Navigation
Reentering society from a long absence can have lifelong ramifications. Some of our loved ones are seeing cell phones, the internet for the first time. At APSC we utilize a high touch, hands on approach for our people coming home. We offer technology training, application navigation such as SNAP benefits, transportation cards and goal setting, as a few examples, during the navigation process. It can be a struggle for formerly incarcerated to self advocate with bureaucratic state agents to obtain necessary items such as IDs and employment in a timely fashion conducive to a successful reentry.
High touch reentry navigation allows us to be with our clients every step of the way through processes they go through. Reentry navigation allows our navigators to create special bonds with our loved ones whom they are assisting. We strive to convey to our people that if they meet us halfway, we are willing to match their energy to create the best possibility for success. As many of us know, many state institutions are extremely difficult to navigate for disadvantaged vulnerable populations, changing the dynamic densities of interactions with such bureaucratic state agents allows for our loved ones to not feel alone in the process, especially if they don’t have family support. Having our navigators present during the reentry process for our people allows for a third party observer and advocate to push back against bureaucratic gatekeeping. This ensures our community receives what they are entitled.
There’s a level of anxiety and overwhelment when someone comes home and needs to accomplish pages full of tasks in order to have a successful reentry–no one should have to do this alone–many of our people do not have family support or families are unable to support them through navigating systems. At APSC, we believe in the “Together Approach,” meaning we will do this together, your fight is our fight.
Peer Support
APSC offers multi-tier individual peer support for members reentering society. Our Reentry staff members use their own lived experiences to offer support and insight to those we help. Individual peer support is measured by the needs of the individual.
Immediate individual peer support shares community knowledge from those of us that have reentered society about how to re-engage with family and children, disclose to employers about previous convictions, and adapting to social norms for some examples. Immediate peer support (for persons who recently came home) is high touch where APSC will make efforts to engage persons weekly.
Long term individual peer support tackles issues for our people such as how to build credit, how to manage loss of loved ones, and maintaining healthy relationships as a few examples. Long term peer support is set up where contact may be less frequent depending on the strides individuals have made in their lives.
We make it a point to communicate that our phones are always available to answer any question no matter how big or small. Many of us on the Reentry team were on the other side of receiving services from APSC, and have years of experience navigating society as a formerly incarcerated person. At APSC, we understand that the need for personal relationships can not be quantified for those that have been incarcerated, it’s unmeasurable for a person to know that they have support for the entirety of their reentry process. We strive to communicate to people that our door is always open, and that we are rooting for their success.
