Trauma and Loss During Reentry

This report presents data about the extremely stressful life events experienced by study participants in the 8 months after they left incarceration and returned home. These stressful life events included losing a loved one to homicide, having been violently assaulted, witnessing violence and death in the home or community, finding out about the death or serious injury of a loved one, being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and losing critical resources like housing, employment, income, transportation, and social support.

Click Here to access the One Page Summary from our Seventh Quarterly Report.

Although experiences of trauma that occur prior to or during incarceration are relatively well explored among justice-involved individuals, little is known about the traumatic events individuals experience after leaving incarceration and returning home. This report responds to this gap in the research. We suspect that trauma experienced during reentry complicates the reentry process and add layers of psychological distress and mental health challenges to an individual’s transition home.