With Wisconsin correction facilities housing around 35,000 people at any given time, communities have a lot to gain, economically and socially, from supporting peoples’ successful return to society after serving their sentences and from reducing encounters with the justice system overall. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is connected to two local efforts to improve related systems as well as individual outcomes – one to change how people re-entering the community are supported, the other to help prevent incarceration in the first place.
‘Listen to them’
One winter day, Ruben Gaona received a call from a returning citizen at a Greyhound bus station. Such calls aren’t unusual for Gaona, executive director of My Way Out and once a returning citizen himself.
The man was contemplating returning to prison just to get out of the cold until Gaona showed up, provided winter gear and talked to him like a person and not a prisoner. Together they created a reentry plan. Today, that man is a successful barber.
My Way Out is a nonprofit that provides direct services. It establishes communication with returning citizens within 18 months of their release so when they’re released, they have a personalized reentry plan that offers a clear pathway toward a job and steady income, housing and support. It began in 2021 as an offshoot of the for-profit business, The Way Out, a fair-chance employment platform.
“We believe that instead of telling people what to do, we should listen to them and hear them when they say what it would take for them not to go back,” Gaona said.
Through the Foundation, My Way Out has received $67,500 in grant support. Part of this funding came from a philanthropic partnership with the Otto Bremer Trust.
Theresa Scott is a program officer at the Foundation and the mother of a returning citizen. Personally, Scott knew what the process could be like and how often people slip through the cracks. Professionally, Scott explained, funding reentry services builds wealth equity, increases housing and contributes toward the workforce, all which contribute to the Foundation’s strategic mission to build a Milwaukee for all.
“I've been giving priority to organizations whose budgets are $500,000 or less,” said Scott, whose portfolio includes workforce development. “To help build that power and representation and economic equality…and if they're working with this population – returning citizens – then I want to lift that up.”
Connect on a human level
Meeting people where they’re at isn’t always a bus station, said Crystal Keller, a reentry support specialist. It can be anywhere in their community that’s comfortable for them. Because it’s not just the physical location that matters but their mental health as well. When people feel anxious or full of regret, they doubt themselves, she said.
“We try to connect with them on a human level without any kind of judgment,” Keller said. “Sometimes it's just you know, going and grabbing lunch with someone and just talking, especially if they're not looking for employment right now, they're just trying to get back to being a member of our community.”
Keller, who is justice-impacted herself, helps clients recognize their marketable skills, makes sure they know their rights and advocates for them.
A change is coming
Karen Coy Romano, board president of My Way Out, said having staff with lived experience who have successfully reintegrated back into community makes a difference. She noted that the Department of Corrections and Bureau of Justice have noticed and partnered with My Way Out to provide reentry programs.
Coy Romano credits part of the success to the program’s tracking platform that allows staff to identify gaps and ensure personalized follow ups. Evidence-based practices show that pre-release reentry planning, and long-term post-release support empowers and prepares individuals for success, she said.
“We really know the history and can build on successes and help people reduce barriers, and that has made a huge difference in terms of recidivism and in terms of the success rate of returning back to the community,” she said. “The other thing that has made a huge difference is that we support people for up to three years.”
Gaona added, “there’s a big ripple effect when you invest in someone’s reentry by divesting in someone’s incarceration. We spend millions and millions of dollars to keep people behind walls. Why can't we spend the same amount or at least a quarter of that money to try to keep people out and providing true opportunities for the individuals to be successful?”
Similar issue, different approach
In addressing mass incarceration, reducing recidivism is only part of the equation; prevention is a major factor, and one group of partners is focused on helping keep youth out of the justice system altogether.
Several years ago, Milwaukee Turners, the Washington, D.C.-based Public Welfare Foundation and Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services came together to create Zero Youth Corrections, a grant initiative that supports nonprofits doing systems change work in the space.
Zero Youth Corrections awarded $400,000 in 2022 and again in 2023. Grantees included Your Move MKE, Paradigm Shyft and Pathfinders. This year, Zero Youth Corrections is increasing its total grant dollars to $800,000 to reflect the cost to incarcerate a young person in Wisconsin.
The Foundation is the fiscal sponsor, helping steward the grants.
“The strategic partnership of the GMF has been key in order to identify community groups to get the word out about what Zero Youth Corrections is,” said Jed Oppenheim, a program director for the Public Welfare Foundation, which focuses on adult and youth criminal justice reform. “We are a national foundation working in a local place and having that relationship with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation allows a much better synthesized approach to this work.”
“To decarcerate young people but also build up strong systems of support for young people who may already be court-involved or at risk of being court-involved is really important for us,” he said.
Public Welfare Foundation’s entry into Wisconsin began with a connection to Milwaukee County, whose efforts to reform youth detention led to a reduction in the number of incarcerated youth from approximately 150 to 60 between 2015 and 2024. The state gave money back to the county for this effort, which in turn helped fund its Credible Messengers Program and Zero Youth Corrections, thanks to the support of David Muhammad, deputy director and chief of operations for the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.
“Philanthropic dollars go farther strategically for collective impact when paired with municipal funds,” said Muhammad, who also suggested the new initiative include Milwaukee Turners to serve as a trusted convener and advocate for policy change and programmatic innovation.
A trusted voice and a seat at the table
Milwaukee Turners took on this role by leveraging public community forums as well as its own experience as a grantee to create a request for proposals for grant applicants.
“The community forums were a really key part of building both what went into the RFP and also building the intentions of the program,” said Krissie Fung, associate director of Milwaukee Turners and project manager for Zero Youth Corrections. “We also made several visits to Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center to hear directly from the young people who are in detention.”
The effort’s community-centered, cross-sector approach has helped ensure selected programs are making a difference, especially as Zero Youth Corrections has shifted its focus from direct service to systems change.
Pathfinders used the funding to support its Power of Paths-Youth Action Board, which employs youth who, in turn, offer their input on solutions for issues affecting young people, such as homelessness, which may lead to being system-impacted.
Paradigm Shyft continued its MIRROR-Policy Reflection program, which provides youth with the tools to critically examine policies such as the Serious Juvenile Offender Program and advocate for changes.
Your Move MKE and Paradigm Shyft even used part of their funding to purchase a building on West Historic Mitchell Street that now operates as a collaborative community hub.
“Moving from a place of retribution to restoration is something that the broader system needs, and this is one way of developing that,” said Benjamin Porter, a Foundation program officer and a member of the Zero Youth Corrections advisory board.
Funding this year will also support a community table concept.
The table will be comprised of 10 to 15 organizations or individuals who work with youth, youth justice and reentry services, Fung explained.
The idea is to create a space for public education and awareness that focuses on youth justice, prevention efforts, advocacy training and the court systems so people have a better understanding of what happens when a child comes into contact with law enforcement and the courts, Oppenheim added.
“There’s a level of trust and love and guidance that this collaboration has offered,” Emilio De Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, said. “It’s proven to be a really successful experiment. It should be lifted loud and proud so that other people can replicate it. It's always been our hope that this isn't just a Milwaukee specific thing, but that other cities and systems can invest in this.”