The Facts

Being incarcerated: United States

An estimated 65 million people in the U.S. have a criminal record.^1. In 2016, 2,755 prisoners died while awaiting their initial release.² As a result, they did not have a chance to re-enter their communities after serving their time. 9% of these prisoners were incarcerated for a drug-related crime.

Our Area: Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the 14^th largest city in the United States and more than 1.3 million people live in Franklin County! Columbus is a great place to live and work.

Of the 50 states, Ohio has the 14^th highest rate of incarceration 330,000 people are either in prison/jail or on community supervision in Ohio, including 51,000 in state institutions

Franklin County jails incarcerate more than 1,000 people annually.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) released more people to Franklin County than any adjacent county in Central Ohio and 67% more than all neighboring counties together

Coming home:

Post incarceration wages decrease by as much as 30% even many years after release.³  This consequence affects re-entering citizens after they have served their time.

Staying out of prison:

The percentage of prisoners arrested following release declined each year during a follow-up period.⁴ The longer re- entering citizens stay out of jail or prison, the less likely they are to return to jail and prison. Therefore, it is important to invest in their re-entry.

Our Area:

The homelessness and unemployment rate for previously incarcerated individuals is higher than that of the general population