Thread by @FAMMFoundation

#THREAD: We've been hearing from fed prisoners & families about halfway houses being closed & people losing valuable re-entry time/services

2) So last week we asked all our federal #incarnated members what they were hearing and experiencing firsthand. #HWH

3) We were overwhelmed w/ responses & utterly appalled. We want to share some here. #HWH

4) We have now learned that more than a dozen halfway houses are being closed or are not having their contracts renewed bc of budgets cuts.

5) This might not seem like a big deal, but scores of federal #prisoners’ re-entry efforts are being harmed. #HWH #reentry #cjreform

6) Policymakers and advocates who believe successful re-entry is good for #publicsafety and #families should be concerned. #HWH #cjreform

7) Here are just some of the scores of messages we’ve received in the past few days:

8) I’ve been in #prison for 12 yrs. I’m homeless and they just told me that my release date was changed. I’m sick about this. #HWH

9a) They originally gave me 6 mos in the #HWH then took my date back bc of bed space, leaving me w/ 2 mos. They said #HWHs closing in #Ohio

9b) How am I supposed to get anything accomplished in 2 mos? They give us so much time in prison & throw us back out w/ hardly a chance #HWH

10a) I'm waiting on my #HWH date at this moment…we were told that no one is receiving the year of #HWH anymore

10b) In fact they said that no one gets more than 4 mos. I've been gone 15 yrs so I was hoping for more time to get myself together. #HWH

11) I was supposed to get ~150 days of #HWH time. Now I'll be going to a #HWH a mo after my home confinement date. No one will explain why

12a) Was turned down for 6 mos bc they couldn’t handle me in a #wheelchair. Was given 3 months + home confinement. Now it's only 1 mo total.

12b) This is for an inmate that both case manager & counselor has said was a great inmate with no trouble and has camper points. #HWH

13a) My family prepared for me to come home & will be devastated to hear my date was changed 1 wk from going home. (received 5 more mos)

13b) I was given 8 mos & 3 wks of halfway house. Now reduced to 4 mos. I don’t think 4 mos is right for someone who's done 13 yrs in prison

14a) NOBODY told me my release date was pushed back. My family is devastated cause they don't understand what I've done wrong #HWH

14b) The job I had for the day of my release is gone because I couldn't start on the date that I signed for 8 mos ago #HWH

15a) I’ve been down for almost a decade. I have no clothes or shelter or job leads. No one seems to care about my success upon release #HWH

15b) They gave me no reason why I’m only getting 4 mos of halfway house. Dealing w/ going to the #HWH has been horrible

16) We will keep everyone updated as we learn more about these #HWH budget cuts. If you want to help:

17) Call your members of Congress & demand to know why these cuts are being made. They undermine #reentry, #publicsafety, & smart #cjreform

18) And read our #prison report on #reentry & prison programming. We surveyed Fed prisoners for insider perspective famm.org/prisonreform/