Re-entry Conference at University of Puget Sound

Last week, the Pierce CPTS (Community Partnership for Transitional Services) and the University of Puget Sound hosted the 2016 Regional Reentry Summer Institute; Unstacking the Deck: Addressing Power, Race and Poverty After Incarceration. The institute’s goal was to connect people and resources, support service providers, and foster collaborative partnerships to promote successful community transitions after incarceration.

Examples of the varied session topics were: Starting and Sustaining a Strategic Plan for Community Partnerships for Transition Solutions, How Research Informs Decision Making within Correctional Industries, The Invisible Debt Trap hosted by Financial Beginnings, a comparison of reentry services in Designing Programs That Meet Local Needs, and Leading with Conviction: Empowering Voices of those Most Impacted.

FEPPS reentry volunteer, Tiff Renfrow sat on the closing panel called Unstacking the Deck From Multiple Perspectives. The panel was moderated by FEPPS Executive Director Tanya Erzen and included Tommey Bradley, Returned Citizen and Graduate of FareStart Culinary School; Kristopher Hung Larson, Team member, F.I.G.H.T.; Pam Sacks-Lawler, Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration; and Vincent Woods, Incarcerated Veterans Program Coordinator for WDVA.

Image description: Page from conference agenda featuring a closing panel entitled “Unstacking the Deck from Multiple Perspectives”, moderated by Tanya Erzen.