council reentry program

Q: Case Management

Case Management , the cornerstone of the Council Reentry Program , is provided with compassion, empathy, and guidance by someone who has walked the path themselves. Beginning with a focus on in-reach to those who have confirmed that they will be returning to the Los Angeles area, Case Managers assess each individual's needs to meet them where they are and collaborate to provide resources and create a unique transition plan. Case Managers partner with participants to navigate the trepidation, uncertainty, and anxiety of reentry and tailor linkages and referrals to key service providers to help make the transition from incarceration as smooth as possible.

Q: Council Circles

Council Circles offered specifically for formerly incarcerated individuals are held throughout the month. These sessions offer participants a nonjudgmental space to connect with a positive community and an opportunity to shift their perception, engaging not as an outcast but as an essential contributor. Rather than “correcting” any particular behavior, the emphasis in these council circles is on supporting traumatized individuals in acquiring new skills and understandings and creating successful and balanced reintegration into society.

Q: Leadership Training

Leadership Training is offered to CRP participants and includes council training workshops and professional development sessions, with the opportunity to engage in an internship, one-on-one council mentoring, and feedback—ultimately leading to certification as a council facilitator and trainer. As Beyond Us & Them offers council-based services throughout Los Angeles and elsewhere, having trainers from varied backgrounds and experiences is a high priority.

Reducing recidivism through addressing the needs of formerly incarcerated individuals who return home and commit to successful reentry.

customized support & training

The Council Reentry Program supports the needs of program participants with a customized approach that offers warm hand-off support services initiated during incarceration, and continues throughout the release and reintegration process with case management, ongoing council sessions for participants and their families, and advanced training in council facilitation for those who have found healing in this practice and want to carry it to their communities.

council reentry program_beyond us and them-sam_and family

changing mindsets, enriching culture, reducing recidivism

Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and is host to the largest number of individuals returning from state prison. There are so many challenges that formerly incarcerated individuals face upon release, including finding housing and employment, the stigma of being an “ex-offender” and the repair and renewal of supportive and healthy relationships with families and friends.

council reentry program_2_beyond us and them

Recognizing and overcoming old habits and avoiding reversion to “the criminal mentality” can be an enormous challenge when returning to one’s community. The culture in prison is often marked by power and aggression, resulting in adaptive behavior and communication that is inappropriate on the outside and can lead to conflict, harm and even rearrest.

the council reentry program is comprised of three components:

Case Management

Case Management, the cornerstone of the Council Reentry Program, is provided with compassion, empathy, and guidance by someone who has walked the path themselves.

Beginning with a focus on in-reach to those who have confirmed that they will be returning to the Los Angeles area, Case Managers assess each individual's needs to meet them where they are and collaborate to provide resources and create a unique transition plan.

Case Managers partner with participants to navigate the trepidation, uncertainty, and anxiety of reentry and tailor linkages and referrals to key service providers to help make the transition from incarceration as smooth as possible.

Council Circles

Council Circles offered specifically for formerly incarcerated individuals are held throughout the month. These sessions offer participants a nonjudgmental space to connect with a positive community and an opportunity to shift their perception, engaging not as an outcast but as an essential contributor.

Rather than “correcting” any particular behavior, the emphasis in these council circles is on supporting traumatized individuals in acquiring new skills and understandings and creating successful and balanced reintegration into society.

Leadership Training

Leadership Training is offered to CRP participants and includes council training workshops and professional development sessions, with the opportunity to engage in an internship, one-on-one council mentoring, and feedback—ultimately leading to certification as a council facilitator and trainer.

As Beyond Us & Them offers council-based services throughout Los Angeles and elsewhere, having trainers from varied backgrounds and experiences is a high priority.

real life stories

“I was confused and frustrated when I began to set things in motion for my release. I didn't know where to start.

The excitement of receiving the news that I had been found suitable for parole soon dissipated as I realized that I would be returning to the free world, having to start over. This frightened me because I was returning to a world that had changed so much in the past seventeen years, a world that I knew nothing about.

It would have been a much easier transition period for me had I known that there was a community of support waiting for me, to help guide me through that process.”

“I was down for 27 years and to have to deal with that mentally, and then come out of it and to be able to see people for who they really are... Council opened that door to where I was able to see people’s points of views and the deep things in people’s lives and be able to connect with them.

Council gave me an appreciation for people in a way I had not seen before. And when they hear me speak and they see my experience, they’re just very welcoming. I know that council had a lot to do with that.

Coming out here, into society, after 27 years, the transition has been smooth. I feel like I’m doing really good transitioning from prison back into society with the experience I got from council.”

Council Reentry program participant holding a red geart toy that says 'listen'

Council Reentry program participants in council circle

Council Reentry program participant Edward at the beach

Council Reentry program participant Edward

Council Reentry program participant Edward at Family celebration

Council Reentry program group at Homegirl

Council Reentry program participant Sam shaking hands

Council Reentry program participant Sam at the Capital Building with Jared Seide Beyond Us & them

Council Reentry program participant- sam

reentry workshops

The Council Reentry Program also offers thematic gatherings, workshops and events intended to provide resources, expand knowledge and foster group engagement. These offerings have included workshops on Redefining Masculinity, Preventing Domestic Violence and a family-oriented Day of Celebration for participants and their loved ones. Below are some examples of recent offerings:

Leaving Prison Behind: A Council Before I Go

Leaving Prison Behind... is a beautiful and powerful illustrated novella that was created to be a resource for individuals facing the challenges of incarceration, rehabilitation and the path to freedom. It weaves the words, stories and insights of system-impacted individuals and those who support them.

About the book

Leaving prison behind book_jared seide_beyond us and them

funding our programs in prisons

We are grateful for funding that has come through private sources (including the JIB Fund Community Building Initiative), supplementing the state-funded programs and enabling us to expand the reach of the program to several additional facilities.

If you'd like to find out more about supporting our work with incarcerated and system-impacted individuals, click below.

support our work

Interested in our prison or rentry programs?

If you'd like to find out more about bringing our Council for Insight, Compassion & Resilience program or Council Reentry Program to your prison, please contact our team to discuss.

supported projects

REDUCING RECIDIVISM ACROSS LA

los angeles reentry collaborative

The Los Angeles Reentry Collaborative is an initiative launched and hosted by Beyond Us & Them that weaves a network of organizations serving formerly incarcerated individuals with the intention of supporting successful reentry and reintegration and reducing recidivism in Central and South Los Angeles.

DISCOVER THEIR WORK