The STAR Project
We welcome and partner with justice-impacted people to build skills and relationships that contribute to flourishing communities.
“I sat down with Linda, I wasn’t really sure what was gonna happen. But then they welcomed me in and hooked me up on the spot. And that was paramount because having that stability of housing is keeping me in my program, keeping me focused on my recovery. So yeah, STAR has been pivotal in my road to regaining my productive, self-reliant lifestyle.”
The STAR (Successful Transition and Reentry) Project is the only reentry organization serving Southeast Washington. Originally formed to serve those released from prison to Walla Walla County, today STAR provides a “wrap-around” services approach as we work with community partners across the state of Washington to meet the complex needs of justice-involved individuals and their families.
The STAR Project meets formerly incarcerated people where they are — creating a comprehensive support plan that centers the individual. STAR staff provide intensive case management services for participants as they transition from incarceration to community release, offering mental health support, housing assistance, job placement resources, mentorship programs, recovery support, and family reunification activities.
The Numbers are Staggering
The Need is Great
Each year approximately 700,000 individuals return home from state prisons in the United States, and an additional 9 million are released from county jails. Typically, individuals with felony convictions are released from prison with $40 in “gate money” and the clothes on their back. After release, they are returned to the county of their first conviction if they are under community supervision. More than 10% of those coming in and out of the justice system are homeless in the months preceding and following their incarceration (Council of State Governments, 2016). Being homeless, unstably housed, or living in a high-crime neighborhood all heighten an individual’s risk of reoffending (Andrews & Bonta, 1995). Those returning to the community face multiple challenges, including obtaining employment, housing, mental health or substance abuse treatment, and family reunification. Family and old friends may have enabled them along the path that placed them in a correctional institution, so traditional support systems are often non-existent or more problematic than helpful. Many find the challenges of finding employment, homelessness, drug addiction, physical and mental health needs, and a lack of family support systems overwhelming and quickly return to what “They Know Best”, a life of crime.
