Why reentry matters: Investing in individuals builds strong communities

BOTHELL, Wash.- The “Aha!” moments happened at every table. They came in discussions about jobs, healthcare and housing – just three parts of reentering society after time in the carceral system.

That was the vision for the first Washington Assembly of Restorative Practices (WARP), a one-day conference designed to help support reentry in rural and tribal communities. The founders envisioned a free gathering that brought together service providers, justice-system partners, and people with lived experience of incarceration and reentry to learn and build trust.

“Someone who wants support coming out of prison could be from any county in Washington,” said Candice Baughman, a member of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council and a WARP co-founder.

“Many reentry conferences are in urban areas and rural people can’t get there or it costs too much. So the other founders and I reached out to people and asked, ‘If we can get sponsorships, will you come?’ And we got the sponsorships.”

The three co-founders — Baughman, Michael Florez and David Lund — understand what the experience is like from the outside in, and drew from their lives to build WARP.

Nearly 200 people, including representatives from many tribes with lands in Washington state, attended the one-day event in September at the University of Washington Bothell, in north King County. Their attendance costs were covered with stipends from partner organizations, including sponsorships from the Reentry Council, which is housed at the Washington State Department of Commerce.

“We all doubted ourselves, because who would want to fund us?” asked co-founder Michael Florez, who lives in Seattle. “Who would believe in this? And why invest in us, in these times, when funding is limited? But our community believed in us, and body of work, and they stood with us.”

Baughman led the sponsorship effort from Thurston County. She represents lived experience on the Reentry Council, where she brings deep connections across the state and profound personal expertise. The Reentry Council supports and advocates for better outcomes for people leaving prison and mass incarceration, based on research that shows society benefits from efforts to reduce recidivism and invest in individual futures.

Lund, the final founder, is a criminal justice specialist with the Office of the Washington Secretary of State, saw an opportunity to connect agencies, organizations and communities, even in a time of budget constraints.

“If we all pitch in a little, we can come together and that can go a long way,” Lund said. “There’s a real benefit to getting together and leaning into each other. We should move toward a restorative framework practice in Washington that’s more of an ecosystem, with everyone working toward the same goal.”

The transition back into community means building trust, connections and responsibility along the pathway to healing.

What it means to ‘come back’

The state Legislature created the Reentry Council in 2016, and Gov. Jay Inslee strengthened it in 2024 by formalizing Washington’s involvement in Reentry 2030, a national program designed to break the cycle of incarceration. Data show that access to services, such as education, employment support, and mental health and addiction treatment, helps people avoid recidivism and involvement with the justice system. Washington’s participation in Reentry 2030 helps the whole of state government support reentry, with specific roles for nine agencies and the Governor’s Office.

One of the primary directives for Commerce in Reentry 2030 is helping formerly incarcerated people find housing. For example, the agency seeks removal of policies that allow exclusion of renters with a history of incarceration. A housekey in hand can reduce desperation for someone newly out of prison, and give them time to find a job and reestablish their life.

Restorative justice is a set of practices focused on repairing harm, rebuilding relationships, and strengthening communities. Elevating the voices of people who are incarcerated and survivors of crime supports this work, but restorative justice itself is fundamentally about practices that promote healing, accountability, and community connection.

In terms of restorative practices, it also means amplifying the voices of people currently involved in the carceral system, as well as people who are survivors of crime. Two presenters joined the Washington Assembly of Restorative Practices event live virtually from the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, and the Reentry Council added two members who are currently incarcerated.

Representation matters.

“They’re tired of people talking about them, and want people to talk with them and make plans and solutions with them,” said Commerce employee Galen Ruzzamenti, the Reentry Program coordinator and the program manager for Reentry 2030. Ruzzamenti, who himself was formerly incarcerated, works with Reentry Council Executive Director Janel McFeat to staff and support the council. The council also includes people who are survivors of crime.

It also means directly addressing demographic disparities in carceral systems and outcomes. According to the United States Sentencing Commission, Native Americans accounted for 4.5% of the federal prison population in 2024, despite representing less than 3% of the total U.S. population. Across the system, 35% of people in federal prisons are Black, 31% are Latino and 30% are white. That’s a stark contrast to the U.S.’s overall demographics, which is 56% white, 14% Black and 21% Hispanic or Latino.

A tribal member reentering society after prison in southeastern Washington faces different obstacles and realities than a white person in King County, an important aspect of the coordination required throughout the entire system.

Within native communities, there’s a pronounced effort to not merely restore people physically into the communities, but also to return their identity and sense of self-worth, said Wesley Roach, whose organization Unkitawa helped prepare the conference’s agenda and breakout sessions.

His work includes helping people inside and outside of carceral systems reconnect with their cultures, spiritual practices, families and even language. It’s all part of belonging, said Roach, who is Lakota enrolled in the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe of South Dakota.

“A bus pass, gate money, clothes, job services — those are all great things and huge parts of the conversation,” he said.

“When it comes to native reentry specifically, our suffering, the generational trauma of genocides, has done a number on our people. When you can restore someone’s sense of self-worth and identity, it can be a pathway toward healing.”- Welsey Roach

That means practices such as sweat lodges and drum circles inside and out of carceral settings, and maintaining relationships throughout the often-vulnerable transition.

The emphasis on rural and tribal reentry meant those conversations were had at WARP — and the table was richly set. The Reentry Council sponsored the catering by Natoncks Metsu, a Native-owned catering company in Renton.

The company’s owner and chef, Jason Vickers, has connections to reentry, which made his presence even more meaningful, Roach said. The meal also supported the vision of tribal engagement.

“One of the few things that’s almost universal across cultures and native nations is that, whenever there’s a gathering or a ceremony, there’s a meal that’s shared,” Roach said. “If we’re asking people to show up in a space, we’re going to feed you and honor you for coming.”

Bringing in voices of experience

People who are currently incarcerated, those who are recently out, and people who have been back for years have valuable insights to share.

“In my experience, founders of reentry support services have been someone without lived experience,” Florez said. “I thought, how cool would it be to walk into an organization and share with someone ‘I’ve been exactly where you’ve been, I see you,’ and pick up that conversation intellectually and emotionally.”

Generations of missing people, knowledge, language, spiritual practices and other cultural touchstones, have resulted in people who struggle with identity and belonging, said Roach, from Unkitawa. People don’t invest if they don’t feel like they belong. Restoring belonging creates connection both inside and outside of carceral systems.

“We’re collectively responsible for each other, and healing our community is everyone’s responsibility. It’s up to all of us to make sure people coming back can succeed to the best of their and our abilities,” Roach said.

That includes accountability for past actions, including victims of crime, and ownership over what happens in the future. Collaborative learning, which WARP embraced, can help communities and individuals across the state, whatever circumstances they’re coming home to.

“This is part of revisioning what we can do with reentry,” Lund, one of the WARP founders, said. “We’re thinking about how we can give people agency in a different way. Even when you know the resources, it’s still a lot of hoops to jump through, and we’re trying to figure out how we can do it better.”

Ultimately, Commerce’s systemic work, including its support of the Reentry Council and efforts like WARP are different paths coming together to help people come back into society. The Reentry Council is an independent organization housed in Commerce, and the agency has other reentry programs, too, including efforts with the Community Reinvestment Program, partnerships with the Health Care Authority on medical care, and efforts in housing and other outreach.

The broad path is part of the agency’s overall mission to invest, build and serve communities across Washington. The reentry community is empowered to lead and prioritize from the inside out.

What’s next

Ruzzamenti and McFeat, from the Reentry Council, are planning visits this fall to facilities across the state to meet with people who are incarcerated. They want to connect with people who applied for and weren’t selected to be on the Reentry Council, as well as get feedback on the strategic plan, which is currently being revised for release in 2027. The team is also working on policy and legislative analysis in preparation for the next legislative session.

The Reentry Council has 22 members, including representatives from state agencies, nonprofit and legal partners, community leaders, people who have successfully reentered and people currently in correctional facilities.

And Baughman, Florez and Lund, the trio of WARP founders, are planning their next event. They envision a legacy that builds on – and grows from – their work. They’re considering different venues and locations that bridge the Cascades and Washington’s rural and urban corners.

“I hope that the next person sitting in a cell right now, who’s stripped of hope and muzzled by outdated policies, can be inspired to believe in themselves and in our community—and come out to do something bigger and better,” said WARP co-founder Florez. “And then they can pick up where we left off and continue to pave the road for others coming behind them, so they may build bigger and better things. We want to show them it can be done, and that there is a community out here that believes in redemption.”

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