The Impact of COVID-19 on Incarcerated and Returning Aging Citizens
About the Community Forum Heading link
The aging population in our nation’s prisons and jails is projected to account for one-third of incarcerated people in the U.S., thus making the experiences of older incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals a growing area of concern for families, practitioners, policymakers, community-based organizations, activists, advocates, and researchers.
This Community Forum on Reentry and Aging focused on barriers to reentry, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Three people with lived experience shared powerful perspectives on these issues, answered questions in the Q&A, and exchanged views and ideas on what can be done to address these needs.
Video of the Community Forum Heading link
NOTE: Once you begin playing the video, hover your mouse over the red video timeline to see different segments of the community dialogue (outlined below).
00:00:00 – Opening Title
00:00:15 – Welcome and Introductory Video
00:06:34 – Introduction of Speakers
00:10:24 – First Speaker: Dr. Joseph Strickland
00:21:58 – Second Speaker: Kevin Blumenberg
00:33:00 – Third Speaker: Celia Colón
00:43:42 – Discussion and Q&A
01:23:43 – Closing Remarks: Dr. Joseph Strickland
01:27:03 – Closing Remarks: Dr. Creasie Finney Hairston
Forum Panelists Heading link
Joseph Strickland, PhD is Senior Research Specialist at the Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research. He is also an adjunct professor of social work at the University of Illinois Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work, the managing editor for the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, and the co-founder of Acclivus, Inc., an organization that works to provide support services for formerly incarcerated people returning to the workforce and individuals at risk of perpetrating or being harmed by violence. He has over 25 years of experience in community-based advocacy, reentry programs, criminal justice reform, and public safety. Dr. Strickland has extensive experience in building social networks that provide justice-involved individuals with social capital to achieve reentry success.
Kevin Blumenberg was born and raised on Chicago’s south and east side. Unfortunately, at the young age of 16 he was incarcerated as a juvenile, and he quickly learned how to survive in an unfamiliar callous environment. For more than 29 years, Kevin survived the daily life of incarceration, during which time he studied and received certificates in anger management, effective decision making, conflict resolution, and 28 others. He earned his high school diploma, became a peer educator, and became certified by the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide peer education on sexually transmitted infections. Since his release from prison, Kevin has worked as a community navigator for Acclivus, Inc. and as a lead organizer for Parole Illinois. Kevin was also instrumental in helping to get the Pre-trial Fairness Act passed in Illinois through his work as a canvasser for The People’s Lobby. Kevin is a 2020 Urban Scholar Fellow with the University of Illinois Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work. He strongly believes education is essential to helping yourself and others in society.
Celia Colón is a progressive national social justice expert, as well as an Emmy Award Nominee, author, educator, and inspirational speaker. Celia is CEO and Founder of Giving Others Dreams (GOD), a non-profit organization that provides direct re-entry services and holistic support for justice impacted women, and is also a 2020 Urban Scholar Fellow with the University of Illinois Chicago Jane Addams College of Social Work. She has served on Chicago Beyond’s Advisory Council on Justice Initiatives, is a Community Task Force member with the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department -Use of Force Working Group, and serves on State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s Returning Citizen Advisory Board. Celia uses her unique life experiences to advocate and support legislative policies that advance smart criminal justice reform. As a passionate community leader, mentor, mother, grandmother and organizer, she is reimagining what re-entry with support looks like for women.
Panel Moderator:
Xochitl E. Guerrero is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of experience providing services to and advocating for members of Chicago’s most vulnerable communities. Xóchitl is a doctoral student at the Jane Addams College of Social Work. Her research interests include the intergenerational impact of parental incarceration and deportation on children and families and the intersection of the immigration and criminal legal systems. Currently, she is a research assistant at the Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research, a member of the Reentry Guide Initiative with the Education Justice Project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a member of the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice’s Policy and Strategic Planning Committees. Xóchitl was born and raised in Chicago, is the proud daughter and granddaughter of immigrants and the mother of five children.