The Devastating Impact of Incarceration and the Long Road to Reentry By Dr. Barry M. Gregory Ed.D.
Dr. Barry Gregory Ed.D. M.Ed. BA
CBT-Based Training Consulting and Coaching In Behavioral Health and Corrections
Returning to our families and communities after a period of incarceration is bittersweet. On the surface, it’s a time of celebration—your family and friends are thrilled you’re free from living behind bars. There’s often a belief that everything will now fall back into place, that you’ll seamlessly return to work, to family life, and society. But for those of us who’ve lived this experience, we know firsthand that this wishful thinking is far from the truth.
My sentence was imposed on April 17, 2017, and I was incarcerated on August 24, 2017. I served 37 months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release. On May 19, 2021, I completed my sentence, but my journey to rebuild my life didn’t end there—it was only just beginning. For over seven years, my wife and I have felt the profound and far-reaching impact of my incarceration.
The trauma of incarceration leaves a permanent scar. It’s not just the time lost or the label of “felon” that you carry—it’s the ripple effects in every aspect of life. Finding employment was one of my biggest hurdles. I didn’t secure full-time work until November 26, 2024, more than three years after my release. Before that, I was grateful to find part-time jobs, but they were not enough to restore the stability my family desperately needed. The financial strain, the emotional toll, and the social stigma combined to create an uphill battle at every turn.
The impact of incarceration on mental health cannot be overstated. The experience leaves behind layers of shame, anxiety, and alienation that don’t just disappear once you’re free. What saved me, however, were the second chances I was given. Some people saw my potential, not just my record, and offered me opportunities to work and contribute again. I’m deeply grateful to those individuals, but I also know my story isn’t the norm.
The truth is, we aren’t doing nearly enough to support people returning home after incarceration. While many individuals and organizations are doing heroic work to help returning citizens, the scale of the problem far exceeds the resources currently available. The federal, state, and local governments must do more to fund the rehabilitation and reentry programs that are so desperately needed.
Successful reentry requires more than just a clean slate—it requires mental health services to process the trauma, housing programs to ensure stability, education, and training to develop skills, and job opportunities that pay a livable wage. It requires breaking down the barriers of stigma and judgment so that people like me can move forward without being constantly defined by our worst moments.
As I reflect on my journey, I’m proud of how far I’ve come, but I also know the devastation incarceration has left in its wake. My family and I are still recovering, and many others are struggling in silence. We need to ask ourselves: Why isn’t the government investing more in the programs that would help people like me successfully reenter society?
Second chances saved my life, but they shouldn’t be rare. They should be the standard. It’s time to rethink how we approach rehabilitation and reentry—not just for the benefit of individuals, but for the families and communities that depend on them.
The journey isn’t easy, but together, we can make it possible.
Source: OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com
Prison POD podcast to Save Lives, Restore Hope, Reduce Suffering and Recidivism
2wGreat article. I would like to add there should be a prep course for the families/loved ones of the person coming home. Much of what we do is not what the person needs or wants. Overstimulation is a huge problem; lights, scents, tastes. Their favorite foods may now make them ill due to the blandness of food or years. Cleaning scents can give headaches as can perfumes. We may take things like this personally but we can’t with our returning loved ones. We need to learn how to deal with our loved one who has been traumatized, as much as they have to adapt to coming home.
Community Support Specialist at Kentucky River Community Care
2wYou should be very proud of your accomplishments. I’m in the same situation as you were. It’s so hard to find jobs when you have a criminal background. I know my story isn’t over, I just wished society would look past that. After going through what I’ve been through in life, my passion is to help individual struggling with drug addiction and mental health and also advocating for the judicial system. I’m trying to get the nerve to start college, but I’m so afraid of being judged. Thank you for this passage. It really helped me keep on keeping on and thank you for everything you do God bless you.