pick themselves up and become productive members of society, compared with white people, he notes.
“If you or your family have some sort of cushion of wealth to fall back on or a family or social network where there is access to opportunity, there’s just much more opportunity to bounce back from a setback like incarceration,” Bovell-Ammon says.
Prisons and the Pandemic: An Untold Tragedy
How to overcome the long-term health effects
Criminal justice reform is needed to protect non-violent offenders against these long-term health effects, according to Bovell-Ammon and Sykes.
Policymakers and legislators need to “review whether or not all the people who are in confinement actually need to be in confinement, because there are other diversionary options than incarcerating them in a local jail or a state prison,” Sykes shares.
Bovell-Ammon agrees that these findings should prompt the public and policymakers to think more critically about public safety and what it means.
“If our policies to address crime and to try and promote safety are actually reducing the health and safety of some individuals, are there ways to address crime that don’t disproportionately cause undue harm to various communities, particularly communities that are already marginalized?” Bovell-Ammon asks.
How to help a loved one
People reentering communities after incarceration tend to be sicker than the general population and may face barriers to accessing health care and other supports.
If you have a loved one that has recently been released from prison, you can support them in the following ways:
- Empathize with them. This will allow you to be prepared if your loved one doesn’t respond or act the way they did prior to their incarceration. In addition, your loved one will feel loved and respected.
- Help them achieve their goal. Your loved one may understandably experience a culture shock after being released from jail. You can help them through this by helping them reach their goals. For example, you can help them go over their finances, house hunt or even help them build their resume.
- Get them involved. If your loved one has family, friends and a community, they are less likely to end up in jail again. You can try getting them involved in community events.
- Develop new hobbies and habits with them. Introducing them to new hobbies and habits will not only keep them away from the old habits that landed them in jail, it will also give you time to bond with them.
- Make sure they are taking care of themselves. Your loved one may go through social isolation or depression after being released. You can avoid this by regularly checking up on them and asking them questions.Make sure your loved one is:
- Getting enough sleep
- Going grocery shopping and cooking meals
- Drinking enough water
- Taking care of their hygiene and health
- Practicing self-care
- Consider therapy. Your loved one may have experienced some sort of abuse or trauma while in jail and their body may have adjusted to living in an environment of fear and violence. Therapy will be able to help them work through this.