The ReEntry Mediation Institute of Louisiana (REMILA) seeks to decrease recidivism rates and improve a person’s transition home from incarceration with the sustainable support of positive relationships with loved ones.

Community Need: 44% of the nearly 14,000 individuals released from incarceration annually recidivate within 5 years of their return home. Interpersonal conflict is a frequent barrier to successful reintegration into a formerly incarcerated person’s community. Families experience loss while their loved one is incarcerated on different levels. Some may have lost a wage-earning household member, a parenting partner, or a source of emotional support. Some may harbor resentment against their family member about events that led to the incarceration. After release from incarceration, families may experience stigmatization, distrust, or fear of their newly released loved one, or they may experience diminished family standing in the community, which can lead to exclusion from neighborhood associations or economic opportunities. While most returning residents plan to live with family and friends once released, formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. Formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate of over 27%, which is higher than the total U.S. unemployment rate during any historical period, including the Great Depression. Reentry mediation helps to align the perspectives of incarcerated persons with the perspectives of their loved ones on the outside, so that everyone is on the same page the day that individuals are welcomed home.