The day you come home will be the day you look forward to, count down to, and dream of. But coming home can bring its own stressors. After the hugs and welcome homes, there is the emotional readjustment of being back at home along with the realities of everyday life- finding a job, a place to live, transportation, paying bills, succeeding at supervised release.
The emotional adjustment after serving time can be hard. Prison itself is a traumatizing event, and many times the people who go to prison already have past traumas they are dealing with. And while you were in prison, the world moved on. Kids grew older, family members may have passed, technology may have changed significantly, and you may feel overwhelmed. You may find yourself feeling anxious or depressed. A returned citizen who served over two decades in prison once described the anxiety related to being out in society in this way, “a locked door becomes a friend.” The best thing you can do is prepare yourself to have complicated emotions about your release. You’ve been looking forward to release as a joyful moment in your life, and it will be, but other emotions are okay too.
As a community, Indianapolis has begun to focus more on helping those who come home from prison readjust, helping to find employment, housing, or other needs. Visit these websites for some additional resources.