Vanessa Murphy with CBS Action News 8 investigates our home and the parole problem in Las Vegas.
Vanessa reports that nearly 400 inmates in Nevada prisons are ready to be released. This is a big problem because, due to the lack of transitional housing, many of them have no place to go.
While the inmates are waiting to be placed, the cost of keeping them incarcerated is $23,000 a day, according to numbers provided by the Department of Corrections.
Imagine how far this money could go if it were invested in transitional opportunities!
In this news story, Vanessa indicates that there are 28 places for people to go. Unfortunately, the problem is actually so much bigger that this number makes it seem. Most of these ‘licensed’ facilities are in Reno and are not actual ‘Transitional Living Facilities’. They are recovery-based programs which just happen to accept ex-offenders (which makes them far too expensive for most parolees).
Furthermore, many of these facilities only accept male residents. When it comes down to it, women leaving prison in Las Vegas have virtually no options (unless they’re “lucky” enough to get a spot in Casa Grande).
What’s wrong with Casa Grande?
The problem with Casa Grande is: they treat people as if they’re still in prison with one leg out. They create the illusion of “opportunity” by giving them small scraps of “privileges”, but none of this provides a legitimate chance at success.
For example: Casa Grande sent one woman back to prison because she had a cell phone. How is she supposed to get a job if potential employers have no way to reach her? This is just one example of how Casa Grande sets people up for failure.
Okay, so…how do we fix this?
Excellent question! Unfortunately, there is no simple solution; however we can start by spreading awareness about the problem. Vanessa’s story is helping us with this, and I can’t thank her enough for her help. If you want to help as well, you may do so by sharing this post with everyone you know!
To donate to our home, please check out our Go-Fund-Me campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/after-orange-halfway-home
See Vanessa Murphy’s full story with pictures at:
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/i-team-shortage-of-transitional-housing-for-nevada-inmates-costs-taxpayers/711170878
