From Dragonfly: Inmate.com

Inmate.com is the rumor mill. The first time I heard an inmate say that they heard something on inmate.com, I asked, "where do I access that?" Okay, I am gullible. All it means is that it's going around as a rumor. All sorts of things are on inmate.com. There's news of an inmate recall (which is only usually 20% accurate), sending people home (which is only about 10% accurate), transferring a lot of people to other facilities (which is about 45% accurate), health scares (which is usually about 99% accurate), fights (which is about 100% accurate), new items in commissary (about 70% accurate), well, you get the idea. There are constant rumors. We always hear about C.O.'s having affairs with inmates (probably about 0.1% accurate). But the rumors that really bother me, are the rumors about grandiose opportunities upon our release.

From early in my time here in Carswell, I started to hear the rumors. Inmates from all walks of life talk about them. The first rumor is that once we are released from prison, we can go to social security, file some documents about PTSD from prison, and have like $1,600 within a couple days. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Another is that we automatically qualify for disability upon release. Well, that is true for those who were on disability PRIOR to imprisonment, but not so much for the general population. Again, too good to be true.

People say that social security will put us on their rolls. Ummm, social security starts at age 65, so for most of us, we wouldn't even qualify. Too good...

Finally, there's a rumor on inmate.com that we are eligible for a government grant for up to $16,000 to help us start our own business. Does anyone realize we are criminals? The government is not going to just hand us money - UNLESS we continue our manipulative ways and do, yet, another illegal thing. Money is not just handed to ex-felons. (Oh, there is the possibility of $100 given to us as we head home --- but that's all).

So, I decided to research all the above items. I asked friends at home to do research and I went to the library and read books about getting started again, once released from prison. I can now verify that inmate.com is wrong when it comes to beliefs about "free money" upon release from prison. We need to find jobs, pay our own rent, feed ourselves, and take care of our own families. Oh, and pay our restitution.

That's not to say that some states may have special programs, but that would be state to state, so I cannot verify whether it's true or not. Also, there are federal programs we can APPLY for and possibly QUALIFY for. These include food stamps, welfare, unemployment, disability, emergency funding, emergency housing, and more. However, these are not guaranteed, some of these programs are only going to be for families with children, and nothing will happen overnight. That's one of the reasons almost all inmates go through a halfway house prior to full community re-entry.

I, also, read in a book that some states, not sure if it is most states or not, will not allow anyone still on supervised released to live in Section 8 housing. Many people here come from section 8 housing, so this may surprise them. Also, at least New York (I couldn't find books on other states yesterday), will not allow anyone to live in section 8 housing until they are off supervision AND done paying their restitution. Had that been my only option, it would have been closed to me, as the amount of my restitution is beyond my ability to pay off without a good job. Since section 8 is a federal program, I imagine New York's rules are similar to those in other states.

Don't be too discouraged, though. I did hear a news story this morning about a new home being built for women just recently released from prison. There are places like that throughout the country. There are community programs that help us. There are food pantries to feed us. Many of us have family and friends to help us out until we get ourselves settled. I just request that people think through what inmate.com is saying. If it sounds too good to be true (i.e. "they are sending 800 of us home within two months") it probably is too good to be true!