Most reentry programs focus only on getting a former inmate, or drug addict, or any-other-scenario-person back to work. However, it is short-sighted to simply assume that finding someone a job will safeguard them from returning to prison; they need an entirely new life. A successful reentry program must help facilitate that re-creation.

If we read through the Book of Nehemiah, which is really his journal of how Nehemiah completed his wall-rebuilding project, we see that he engaged in other aspects of the people’s lives besides just building the walls around the city (note: he did create jobs for the people- see Nehemiah 3:1f.). He also see him:

1. •advocating against opponents of his people (4:1f.);
   

2. 
   

3. •freeing the poor from financial oppression (5:1f.);
   

4. 
   

5. •moral and ethical renewal (8:1f.);
   

6. 
   

7. •confession of past wrongs and restitution where appropriate (9:1f.);
   

8. 
   

9. •community service and “giving back” as a way of life (10:28f.);
   

10. 
    

11. •location of permanent housing (11:25f.);
    

12. 
    

13. •scheduling and time management (13:15f.);
    

14. 
    

15. •teaching about marriage and parenting instruction (13:23f).
    

In other words, he did not simply address the employment issue- he assisted his people in building an entire culture, a way of life. Reentry programs must engage people comprehensively, as well.

A study by the Legal Action Center (LAC) in 2004, which compared and contrasted the individual states of our nation in terms of their “friendliness’ towards reentry, ranked Alabama forty-fifth (After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry, A Report on State Legal Barriers Facing People with Criminal Records, A Report by the Legal Action Center, p21). 

States were graded using various criteria. Categories studied included voting, access to records, parenting, drivers’ license, and public housing. The two areas in which Alabama scored lowest were employment and public assistance. This suggests that the two areas we should target to improve the recidivism rate are: 1) matching residents to long-term jobs with growth potential (where most reentry programs begin), and 2) educating them to the vast number of programs that are already in place that they might access (the ingredient that is most often missing).

That is, LAC’s study suggests that Alabama does not do well in helping re-build the entire person. We have focused on building the wall, to stay with our metaphor, but we have not done that as well as we can- we have neglected the other aspects of the former inmate’s life.

The Village seeks to rebuild a city within the city by rebuilding people.