Government: South County Reentry Resource Center celebrates 5th anniversary
Program helps people leaving jail, prison adjust, provides crucial services
By Staff Report
The South County Reentry Resource Center is celebrating five years of giving a second chance to people coming out of incarceration.
The Gilroy-based center provides crucial services to residents of south Santa Clara County leaving jail and prison. Since 2018, the Gilroy-based center has partnered with some of the county’s most effective programs designed to help individuals break the cycle of incarceration and find second chances for healthy, productive lives.
The center opened as a pilot project in San Martin in 2015 and relocated to its current location at 8425 Murray Ave. in Gilroy in 2018.
While there are many resources accessible from this location, the most used are medical and psychiatric services from the weekly mobile medical bus, case management and wrap-around services provided by faith-based reentry programs, vouchers to obtain identification cards, employment information and referrals, and shelter information.
“One of the best ways to break cycles of incarceration is to provide services and resources throughout our county so individuals can easily access financial and social support when returning home from jail or prison,” said Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, a member of the Santa Clara County Reentry Network, which advises the team governing the Reentry Resource Centers.
Without access to stable housing, food, clothing, and opportunities to work or continue their education, the likelihood of returning to custody increases significantly, she said.
“Investing in our reentry population serves not only to the direct benefit of the individuals served, but leads to reduced violence and anti-social activities, as well as increased employment in our communities,” she said. “Everyone benefits.”
A third of recidivism crimes are directly related to drugs and 20 percent of people in custody suffer from severe mental illness, according to the Office of Diversion and Reentry Services’ 10-Year Update in 2022. Substance use and mental illness often lead to homelessness, unemployment and, in many cases, recidivism. Coming home from jail or prison, 66 percent of South County Reentry clients have no permanent housing and 39 percent are unsheltered, while 72 percent are unemployed and 53 percent are looking for work.
“Connecting our residents who are leaving jail and prison with housing options, food assistance, medical care and employment opportunities is critical in helping them pursue healthier and more productive lives,” said County Executive Jeffrey V. Smith. “The county recently created a program to hire individuals who have an arrest or conviction on their records. This model of second chance employment helps individuals use their experience with the justice system to connect with and mentor other people reentering society from custody. This is what helps to break cycles of incarceration.”
Connection with a case manager who understands the challenges of reentry and can offer emotional support along with reentry resources is critical for clients. Charles, a former Reentry client, said when he was released after 25 years in prison, he felt out of touch with how to get along in the world. Through the Reentry Resource Center’s Good Samaritan Faith Based program, case manager Julian Delgadillo connected Charles, who is now 73, with a food bank, assistance with his utility bills and car registration, and helped him find a job that accommodates his physical disability. Charles is now working and enjoying life with his wife in rural Gilroy.
“I can’t say enough about my case manager,” Charles said. “I was kind of out there lost a little bit and he stepped in. He checked on me every week to make sure I was OK.”
Building on its network of support for residents reentering the community, the Office of Diversion and Reentry Services continues to forge partnerships and initiatives with organizations like national venture philanthropy REDF, which is launching the Santa Clara County Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (RISE). RISE will create new and scale existing employment social enterprises, which are businesses that provide jobs, training, and support to people breaking through employment barriers.
“Our hope is to increase awareness of the challenges that reentry clients face and demonstrate the benefits of county support for programs like this,” said Javier Aguirre, director of the Office of Diversion and Reentry Services. “With the community’s help, these collective efforts will help us invest more in the recovery and potential of our clients.”
The County of Santa Clara Reentry Resource Center opened in San José in 2012 and expanded to a second location in South County in 2015. Together, the centers strive to build safer communities by providing resources to formerly incarcerated and other justice-involved individuals, helping them heal and reintegrate back into the community.
Using a one-stop-shop model, the RRC collaborates with many community-based entities and State and County Departments such as the Sheriff’s Office, Behavioral Health Services Department, Social Services Agency, Adult Probation, Office of the Public Defender, Valley Homeless Healthcare Program, Office of Supportive Housing, Pretrial Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and several non-profits such as the Faith-Based Reentry Collaborative.
Representatives of these organizations and departments reside in one building and work collaboratively to provide resources and services to clients. Those services include referrals for mental health and substance use treatment, public benefit enrollment, counseling, health care, education, record expungement services, employment referrals, and housing and shelter information.
This story was rewritten from a press release provided by Santa Clara County.
