The second chance club : hardship and hope after prison /
Hardship and hope after prison.
Jason Hardy.
- First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- New York : Simon & Schuster, 2020.
- xv, 271 pages ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-262) and index.
Emergency -- A max case -- The idea -- Ride or die -- Addicted to the lifestyle -- Homebody -- Institutionalized -- Ninety-day turnaround -- The whole person -- The descendants of masters -- A product of hazard -- Removed from circulation -- Best of the worst -- The wait -- Adaptable -- Off the dole -- Constraints of time and place.
LJ Jan 2020. PW 12/22/2019. Kirkus 11/15/2019.
"A former parole officer shines a bright light on a huge yet hidden part of our justice system through the intertwining stories of seven parolees striving to survive the chaos that awaits them after prison in this illuminating and dramatic book. Prompted by a dead-end retail job and a vague desire to increase the amount of justice in his hometown, Jason Hardy became a parole officer in New Orleans at the worst possible moment. Louisiana's incarceration rates were the highest in the US and his department's caseload had just been increased to 220 offenders per parole officer, whereas the national average is around 100. Almost immediately, he discovered that the biggest problem with our prison system is what we do-and don't do-when people get out of prison. Deprived of social support and jobs, these former convicts are often worse off than when they first entered prison and Hardy dramatizes their dilemmas with empathy and grace. He's given unique access to their lives and a growing recognition of their struggles and takes on his job with the hope that he can change people's fates-but he quickly learns otherwise. The best Hardy and his colleagues can do is watch out for impending disaster and help clean up the mess left behind. But he finds that some of his charges can muster the miraculous power to save themselves. By following these heroes, he both stokes our hope and fuels our outrage by showing us how most offenders, even those with the best intentions, end up back in prison-or dead-because the system systematically fails them. Our focus should be, he argues, to give offenders the tools they need to re-enter society which is not only humane but also vastly cheaper for taxpayers." --publisher website.
9781982128593 1982128593
2019035155
Parolees--Louisiana. Parole officers--Louisiana. Prisoners--Deinstitutionalization--Louisiana. Ex-convicts--Rehabilitation--Louisiana.