Just spent the last 21 months in prison. What did I miss in the world of the Internet? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 4 months ago by HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works to c/main@sh.itjust.works

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Other interesting things welcome too.

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[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

21 months ago, so since about March 09, 2024?

I started to write things out and its all bad news. I'm struggling to come up with anything good that has happened since then. Hmm, the movie Wicked (the first one) was pretty good. So, I guess thats about all the good news.

EDIT: Apologies if this isn't a welcome topic, you can ignore me if it is. As someone rejoining us, can you tell me what your needs are? I have often held the thought that those that just finished serving time may be some of the most ignored/neglected. I don't know if that's true though. What are the needs of someone in your position and what kind of help do you wish existed to make it easier?

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 months ago

Well, apart from this account I've been locked out of pretty much everything else since I lost my phone number and authentication app, which makes it feel like I haven't really come home really.

Apart from that, there's no such thing as resocialisition so you're just kinda thrown out without anything but some money and good luck I guess.

[-] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 6 points 4 months ago

Wanna join my D&D group?

My timezone is west coast.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

So something that would be helpful would be some kind of "re-entry program"? Something that says "hey its X date now. These days here's what's available to you and what is expected of you generally as any random person, as a worker, as a member of a family". Something like that or something else?

I would guess the length of incarceration would also change the content of it too. Folks that have been outside society longer will need more guidance to get up-to-date.

[-] spinne@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not speaking for OP, but aside from catching up with the world in terms of news and culture, social support is a big deal. Being kicked loose means needing a ride to get to ... somewhere to go. Hopefully that's lined up already. Adjusting to non-institutionlized living takes time and practice. Suddenly not being forced onto someone else's schedule is a big change and can easily lead someone down into a state of depression. It also means having the opportunity to process the time they spent living in prison. It might not be an easy thing to talk about, and there's always the risk of well-intentioned (or just uncomfortable and not doing a great job of handling it) friends or family being like, "But you're out now! Why do you still want to talk about it? It's over, and you need to move on!" but someone just getting out has just spent however long constantly on guard for any little sign of trouble. That's pretty rough on a person.

There are probably a million other things I'm missing from here, but leaving is a massive transition that can be hard to make for a lot of people for a lot of good reasons. Check out the work of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in California! Unsupported re-entry is something they've been addressing for more than a decade.

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

Bit late but that's pretty spot on. I'm lucky that I'm european and my family supports me after getting out so it could definitely be a lot worse.

I'm in a benefits program to get me back to work while I struggle with an injury and that's something I should've done 2 months earlier.

Also, I weirdly find myself wanting people to ask about it more because there's so much I could still talk about.

[-] spinne@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Well, shoot. I'll start with the questions if you want. :)

What's the most surprising thing you found out from imprisonment? Or what stood out in general as the best/worst/funniest/saddest/most interesting. Any favorite projects you can talk about that you worked on inside?

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

What’s the most surprising thing you found out from imprisonment?

Depends on what you mean by surprising.. Guess the fact that I managed to survive depression and get out somewhat better I guess?

Or what stood out in general as the best/worst/funniest/saddest/most interesting.

Generally the fact that prison is useless in 99% of all cases. Stick some criminals in a hole together, take away most of what makes their life worthwile outside (home, job, in my case my phone and thus google account so my entire online life so far), and somehow be surprised that all they did was make connections and learn how to be better criminals. Great plan all around.