Re-entry Mediation: Stopping The Revolving Door of Incarceration

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Hello Howard County MD residents!

We at the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Center (MCRC), Inc. hope that you have been staying safe during these unprecedented times. With the holiday season quickly approaching, those of us at MCRC thought it would be relevant to highlight one of the critical services offered by our center—Reentry Mediation.

Reentry mediation offers incarcerated people the chance to have a structured conversation with loved ones or other people they trust who are essential to their successful reentry into society. MCRC’s free mediation services are voluntary, completely confidential, and offered without judgment.

As part of these mediation services, MCRC provides professionally trained mediators who are from Howard County to help facilitate conversations between incarcerated persons and the people they invite to mediate with them. During these two-hour mediation sessions, participants are encouraged to discuss any feelings, values, or topics and are encouraged to work together to co-develop plans to help ease the incarcerated individual’s reentrance into society. 

The goal of our re-entry mediation services is to provide free high-quality services which increase the chances that once an incarcerated person is released, they remain with their families and in their community. Accordingly, mediators are willing to schedule as many mediations as the involved parties need, as MCRC recognizes the doors which are opened when someone reentering society has a support system to aid their return to daily life. This belief is supported by research that was conducted by Choice Associates on the Community Mediation Maryland Prisoner Re-entry Mediation Recidivism Program which found that participating in mediation prior to release lowers the likelihood of a person being arrested or incarcerated again.

We aim to allow people to participate in difficult conversations prior to their release so that they can develop a well-thought-out plan and reenter society without unresolved conflicts holding them back from moving forward.

If our re-entry mediation service sounds like it may be beneficial to you or someone you know, please give us a call at (443)-518-7693 or email info@mcrchoward.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

For additional information concerning re-entry mediation, please visit CMM Re-entry Mediation – Re-entry Mediation Program