One of the books provided by the Prison Professor Talent non-profit agency is titled Release Plan 2024 Guidebook and I recently read it. I thought it would be an asset as I prepared a release plan for my annual Army Parole and Clemency hearing that will take place in the spring time of 2025.
This book has offered many insights. I was able to create a realistic plan for my release: housing, transportation, medical/dental care, budgeting, employment, therapy or after care, etc. In previous hearings my packet was complete but not as thorough as it should have been. I carefully studied both the sample provided by Mr. Santos and the template offered for others and then created mine.
I used my short term and long term goals to outline the things I will need to obtain immediately upon release (personal documents, ID, driver’s license, insurance, etc) and then I tried to plan what a 6-9 month stay in a halfway house would entail. The hardest parts of release planning, in my opinion, is creating an accurate budget since inflation has really impacted our country and getting up to speed with current technology.
I started my incarceration just as cell phones became handheld and the internet had yet to explode. Now both are huge AND integrated. Few people know how to function without their smartphones and many homes are equipped with smart speakers, Ring doorbells, HVAC systems run on an app, even a car that can be started or locked from your phone. I look forward to learning about both but it is challenging to think about resumes, job applications and even interviews when I’ve never even operated a smart phone. I can say that it is thanks to Mr. Santos and his Prison Professors Talent non-profit agency providing these books that has helped me to see all the holes in my previous release plans and to fill those gaps so that I am better prepared.
