ANTRIM COUNTY - Life after prison is a tough road to navigate for those who have been in for an extended stay.
That’s why the Northern Michigan Opioid Response Consortium (NMROC) hosted a Jail Release Simulation in Antrim County. NMROC is a federally-funded program through the Michigan Center for Rural Health.
“While we’re walking around every day, we make some 35,000 decisions a day. And when you’re incarcerated, especially for a long time, you’re really only making about 200 decisions per day,” said Jeanne Marriott, project associate. “The sensory overload when people come out...from incarceration is so intense.”
The point of the simulation is to raise awareness on how people struggle going back into society after they have been in jail or prison.
“Before, I thought these were all good systems in place. But having gone through it now, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve seen other people turn [to] almost criminal activity trying to get what you need to do throughout this process,” said participant Chuck Hayes.
There were several stations set up and each participant was given a person and their history, then tasked to get through each week’s responsibilities – things like paying rent or meeting with their probation officer.
“A lot of the returning citizens, they work harder than most of us because they have all these extra things that they have to accomplish in their week or in their day. And they cannot make any mistakes... Everything is going to be amplified,” said Matt Mansfield, Networks Northwest Offender Success team member.
The floor was open for discussion after every round to hear about each other’s experiences and the new perspectives they gained.
Chuck Hayes said, “I think some changes need to be made, but I’m not a politician. I don’t want to be a politician, but I want I want people helped and I don’t know how to best do it.”
NROMC said the first step is using simulations like these to help the public understand the obstacles people face post-incarceration.
“A lot of them want to change. They want to work hard and they don’t want to make that same mistake again. So it’s not really up to us to judge them on their past mistake. They’ve already been judged for that and they’ve already served their time for that. They want to come back to a normal life,” said Mansfield.
NROMC plans to hold more simulations and encourages anyone to join in.