RE-ENTRY
When You’re Home but It’s Hard.
You’re home now, but that doesn’t mean everything feels okay. You may be lying awake wondering if you can actually hold onto this job, if your family will ever fully trust you again, if you’re going to make it or end up back where you started. That worry doesn’t mean you’re failing, it means you know how much is at stake. You are not the first person to feel this way, and you will not be the last. There are people who have made it through this exact fear and come out the other side.
Understanding This Struggle
RIDGE describes real change in three parts: owning your story, telling your story, and planning for your future. Right now, that might not look like one big decision. It might look like choosing it again, every day, even on the hard days.
This isn’t just a hopeful idea. Only 2.6% of TYRO graduates return to prison, compared to 21% across Ohio and 37% nationally. That kind of change comes from people who kept going even when it was hard, not from people who never struggled.
What Can You Begin to Consider?
1. What’s the biggest worry running through your mind right now about how things are going to go? Outcomes – The RIDGE Project
2. When something goes wrong, do you tell yourself it means you’re failing, or that you’re human? Outcomes – The RIDGE Project
3. What does it look like to keep planning for your future, even on the days it feels impossible? Outcomes – The RIDGE Project
4. If work has been hard to find or hold onto, what’s really standing in the way? 10 Tips to Getting a Job with a Felony
5. Is there tension at home that you’ve been avoiding instead of facing? TYRO Dads · TYRO Moms
6. Patrick McCleveland faced this same uncertainty and built something out of it anyway. What would that look like for you? Case study: Dallas / Anthem Strong Families
7. Who can you actually be honest with about how hard this is right now? Building your Support System · Finding a Support System · How to Find a Support Group
These questions are intended to help you reflect on where you are right now and identify where you may need support.
Continue Learning
RIDGE and its related resources offer additional support for the ongoing work of staying home, not just arriving home.
– RIDGE Resources: a directory of further support, including TYRO Times, TYRO TV, and blog content. theridgeproject.com/resources
– TYRO Dads / TYRO Moms: personal-growth programs built around accountability, rebuilding trust, and reconnecting with family after time away. TYRO Dads and TYRO Moms
– TYRO Blog, employment guidance: practical, direct advice for finding and keeping work with a record. 10 Tips to Getting a Job with a Felony
Next Step: Explore the resources above, one step at a time, on the days it feels hard to take even one.
I Feel Alone in This
I Feel Alone in This When you're home and you feel like no one understands, like you have no one to talk to, remember you are not the first person to experience this, and you [...]
I’m Scared I’ll End Up Back Where I Started
I'm Scared I'll End Up Back Where I Started You are working hard to have a better life, to become a better person, for yourself, and for your loved ones. But there is a constant [...]
My Family Doesn’t Trust Me Yet
My Family Doesn't Trust Me Yet You're home with your family, but it can feel like there's still a wall standing between you. We won't sugarcoat it; this is a hard season, and it's hard [...]
I Can’t Find or Keep a Job
I Can't Find or Keep a Job When you're home from prison and can't seem to find anyone who will hire you, or you keep losing the jobs you do get, it can feel discouraging [...]
