For Ex prisoners a haven from the streets

NY TIMES
This year, the United States will release nearly three-quarters of a million people from prison, a record high.   Nationally, 2.3 million people are in prison in the United States, and 95 percent of them will, at some point, get out and go home.
Society has a strong interest in keeping them home — in helping them to become law-abiding citizens instead of falling back into their old ways and returning to prison.  But American programs for newly released prisoners echo the typical follies of our criminal justice system:  our politicians usually believe that voters only want the emotional satisfactions of meting out maximum punishment, even if these policies lead to even more crime.
The usual package granted to someone released from prison in New York state is $40, a bus ticket and the considerable stigma that follows an ex-offender.  Since prisoners are often held far away from their families and states charge astronomical rates for prison phone calls, prisoners often lose touch with their loved ones and may not have anyone to take them in when they get home.  They may arrive in their home cities with no plans, other than — worrisomely — those hatched with fellow prisoners.  They have little prospect for jobs or housing.  Since many don’t get effective drug treatment in prison, they might still crave a fix, which costs money.  It is little wonder that some former prisoners fall back into crime within hours or days.