The Ituha Stabilization Facility staff in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island shared a heartfelt letter from a recent client. Ituha provides a monitored and safe setting for individuals withdrawing from alcohol and drugs, and....Read more >>
Our Mission: We are a social enterprise that partners with communities to transform society by honoring the humanity of people, reducing the impact of discriminatory mass incarceration and empowering people to live safe, healthy, productive lives through inspiration, affirmation and by overturning barriers.
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Labels Create Barriers
We believe that words are powerful and can be very stigmatizing and harmful when used to label our citizens who are or were formerly incarcerated. Let’s be clear, the individuals are first and foremost human beings!
We all need to remember that people released from prison or jail share common and descriptive names with everyone else in society to include: grandparent, parent, son and daughter, extended family member, friend, neighbor, colleague and employee. These are the only type of names that should ever be used to describe a person.
When talking about people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, here are labels to avoid and terms that are acceptable:
NEVER USE
|
Convict |
ex-Con |
Inmate |
ex-Inmate |
|
Offender |
ex-Offender |
Criminal |
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Pioneer Human Services is a nonprofit (501c3) social enterprise. One-hundred percent of our revenues are reinvested within the organization.
NEWS
Pioneer Human Services provides housing and employment services through our Foundational Community Supports (FCS) program for....Read more >>
We asked our employees and former clients to tell us what reentry support and second chances means to them. Following is a sample of the comments we received back: " At the point of my reentry into society from....Read more >>