Prison is, in many facets, a traumatizing experience. However, in reentry spaces, the aim is to create an environment for recently released people that directly combats the ideologies and practices of a carceral space.
One of the most important practices of an effective reentry program aimed at reducing recidivism and providing people with stability is to practice trauma-informed care. What does that look like?
It begins with creating a healing, safe space, rather than one that is punitive, one that fosters community between participants and staff and encourages people's strengths rather than highlighting their shortcomings. Trauma-informed care looks and sounds like respect, sensitivity, and compassion rather than punishment, aggression, or shame.
In this episode, guest Dr. Bahiyyah Muhammad – an associate professor of criminology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University – discusses what it looks like to support, acknowledge, and heal the wounds of systemic trauma within a reentry space.
