From Incarceration to Advocacy: Exploring the Perceived Needs for Trauma-Responsive Mentorship and Support for System-Impacted Community Leaders and Advocates

Background and Purpose

In the US incarcerated individuals face disproportionately high rates of childhood, interpersonal violence, and community violence, enduring trauma from an early age. During incarceration, both men and women continue to experience high rates of violence, including physical assaults, sexual violence, staff misconduct, bullying, and psychological violence. This environment deprives them of control, autonomy, and privacy, exacerbating existing trauma and hindering rehabilitation and reintegration into society post-release.

Many returning individuals come home eager to give back to communities struggling in the same ways they have. Formerly incarcerated community leaders, advocates, violence interrupters, and service providers are uniquely positioned to support others impacted by the community and structural violence and the justice system, drawing from lived experiences and expertise. However, their trauma may resurface, leaving them vulnerable to triggers, boundary issues, vicarious trauma, and maladaptive coping mechanisms. Despite their commitment, they may face stigma and lack support. Supporting these individuals is crucial in fostering resilient communities and effective reintegration efforts.

This study sought to qualitatively understand the experience of formerly incarcerated community leaders, advocates, violence interrupters, and support workers, as well as to explore the needs, supports, and barriers they faced as they moved into the work. This study was conducted as part of a larger participatory action effort to build a trauma-responsive curriculum for leadership, mentorship, and support for those coming home with a passion to serve their communities.

Methods

Participants were recruited via snowball sampling to participate in one of four focus groups. Participants were pre-screened for being over the age of 17 and having previous experiences of incarceration and involvement in the work of community leadership, advocacy, violence interruption, or support, whether paid or unpaid. Focus group questions consisted of a series of structured questions related to reasons for getting into the work, experiences doing so as a part of reentry, reactions to the work, needs, barriers, and supports, mentorship or lack thereof, experience of the workplace, and ideas about needed supports. Questions were generated prior to recruitment in participatory conversation with formerly incarcerated community advocates. Groups were co-facilitated by one formerly incarcerated community leader and one professor of social work with no history of incarceration.

Results

33 participants completed the focus groups. Emergent themes included purpose-driven advocacy, reentry struggles inclusive of trauma, overwhelm, and lack of needed support, the power and pressures of having lived experience, roles of mentorship and community as a support, difficulty finding financial stability and institutional support in the work, and desire for structural change. Throughout, participants shared experiences trauma, grief, and recovery journeys, with discussion of support and advocacy for self and others as a way of reclaiming power.

Conclusions and implications

These focus groups affirm that system-impacted leaders bring unmatched wisdom and commitment to healing their communities. However, they also face significant barriers to sustainable leadership. Implications for development of a curriculum for trauma-responsive leadership and advocacy will be discussed.