Los Angeles County is home to one of the largest populations of formerly incarcerated individuals, with one-in-three California prisoners coming home to LA after serving their sentences, mostly settling in Central and South Los Angeles. In the heart of the city, the LA Reentry Collaborative Accountable Community for Health (ACH), with backbone leadership from the Center for Council,* has launched a multi-sector partnership centered around building resilience and fostering connection within the reentry community—and those who serve it.

“Social connection significantly improves the health and well-being of all individuals,” says Jared Seide, Executive Director of the Center for Council. “It’s as important to humans as food and water. The ongoing crises of loneliness, mental illness and domestic and political violence are directly linked to our lack of opportunities to connect with one another."

To help forge social connection within the reentry community and cultivate strong relationships with the broader community, this ACH weaves together organizations from many sectors—health care, CBOs, case management services, therapy groups, housing providers and homeless shelters—to spark collaboration and apply a health equity lens to their joint work. Uniquely, this collaborative includes a focus on provider wellness, helping to address burnout and vicarious suffering amongst those professionals who provide services to a population experiencing significant physical and mental health challenges.

Collaborative members help provide a wide range of critical services to those embarking on their reentry journey. Such activities include prison “in-reach” services, warm handoffs, professional training, digital literacy programs, counseling and legal services, affordable housing, and education—even tattoo removal. Many of the providers of these services, including the ACH’s Community Outreach Liaisons, have first-hand experience of reentry and can help participants navigate around roadblocks.

“We have folks who are working in reentry because they themselves are formerly incarcerated or somehow impacted by these broken systems,” says Averyl Dietering, Center for Council’s Grants Manager. “We create a space where people who provide care, and organizations with capacity, can get together, listen to what folks need and create a welcoming hub for those reentering the community. Provider wellbeing is an often-overlooked factor in the long-term sustainability of the sector and is a key focus of this initiative.”

The culmination of this effort will enable healthier relationships with family, more positive contributions to the community and improved mental, behavioral and physical health—not only for those reentering, but to their families, communities and those who provide services.

“Ultimately, success means a lower recidivism rate,” says Sydney Scanlon, Program Manager at Center for Council. “There are so many barriers for justice-involved individuals. Finding employment, housing and health care is a constant challenge. We hope the resources and connections that we provide will allow folks to overcome these barriers.”

Learn more at lareentrycollaborative.org.

*Note: Since the writing of this profile, Beyond Us & Them has taken over backbone responsibilities for the LA Reentry Collaborative.