| Citizen Circles Embrace Ex-Offenders, Community
One of Bobbie Herron-Boyer's favorite training exercises for people interested in helping ex-offenders reenter the community involves giving everyone a string.
The intersecting strings, which represent all the different factors and forces in the life of an ex-offender (e.g., family, job, corrections), show how overwhelming accountability and responsibility can be. "It's chaos," said Herron-Boyer, a consultant and community resource specialist for the U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Ohio. "It's not surprising [trainees] drop the strings. The system needs to be organized."
Herron-Boyer developed the concept of Citizen Circles, a model that involves many people in the successful reentry of ex-offenders. Essentially, corrections and parole officers, specialists, and trained laypeople work with returning offenders to ensure a more successful reentry. Each Circle, made up of 25 to 30 participants, monitors the ex-offenders' progress, interviews applicants to the program, helps coordinate case management, and reviews the histories of both successful and unsuccessful returning offenders.
The Citizen Circles model is based on a strength-based approach, where more attention is paid to what ex-prisoners are doing right rather than to just their mistakes and problems. The model asks people to change their mindsets and see ex-offenders as people with potential who can bring value to the community. Citizen Circles focus on seven areas: employment, family, social interaction, substance abuse, community functioning, personal/emotional orientation, and attitude.
To Herron-Boyer, the corrections officers and faith-based groups that she saw working with the ex-offender population meant well, but they lectured the ex-offenders and she believed they needed to use a more integrated approach. "You have to look at what are the capabilities of ex-offenders," she said. "Look at the positive things first."
All Circle participants undergo mandatory training to help them alter their perceptions of prisoners and form a more solid support system for returning offenders. Many participants have found the learning process transforming and have changed in how they understand ex-offenders, Herron-Boyer said.
A Citizen Circle is a great forum for educating and informing the public about corrections, ex-offenders, substance abuse, and mental health, according to Scott Sylak, Executive Director of Lucas County Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime. "It allows the community to become part of the solution in dealing with ex-offenders," Sylak, who has worked with Herron-Boyer, said. "This empowers the community to take part in solving their own problems."
Herron-Boyer sees the model as balancing support from corrections with that from the community. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recognizes the importance of citizen participation and guidance, declaring it "essential for correctional practices inside and outside institutions."
Herron-Boyer is just beginning to work with Weed and Seed sites in a more comprehensive fashion. The first Citizen Circle was established in the Toledo Weed and Seed site; today, Ohio has between 20 and 25 Circles. Although getting a site involved in something new is sometimes challenging, Herron-Boyer believes Circles support the Weed and Seed goals and that Weed and Seed sites can be a "perfect match" for Circles.
Citizen Circles are unique to Ohio, but other states are interested in replicating the concept. Whether the Circles model will expand to the entire country remains to be seen. Herron-Boyer is interested in marketing the Circle concept and developing more training opportunities. Sylak thinks that communities will consider Circles when they are ready for them. "Communities looking for solutions will seek these types of programs out," Sylak said. "We need to be ready to respond when that happens."
For more information, contact:
Bobbie Herron-Boyer
Community Resource Specialist
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