News – Inside Out Reentry Community

Last Updated: December 5, 2024 by InsideOut Reentry

Inside Out Reentry Community Newsletter Oct/Nov 2024

We’re Kicking Off The Giving Season

Thank you for all of your support throughout this year and we hope you will support our programs with an end-of-the-year donation! We are working harder than ever to help those who are returning to the community after incarceration – with Community Meetings, peer-led support groups, creative writing and art group meetings, financial planning, reentry planning, resume assistance, group social activities, bus passes, and more!

We’ve achieved some amazing milestones this year with our first full year running our Reentry House, and moving to a new location with more space for private consultations.

Social Activities Bring Us Together!

Creative Collective: members showcased their imagination by building dioramas. Having an outlet to express creativity with friends is a great way to destress and relax, especially when life throws challenges our way!

St. Wenceslaus fall turkey dinner: Thank you Debbie and Mike Kratz for inviting us again this year! We love sharing meals together and enjoying each other’s company!

Game Night: We hosted 35 members, a new record attendance for one of our Social Activities events! Members participated in a bags tournament, card games, chalk drawing, and a delicious grill out- a great way to spend the evening!

Trivia Night Success – Raising More Than $12,000

If you weren’t at our recent Trivia Night fundraiser, you missed out! We had such a great time and we are so grateful for all the supporters who came to the event, all the sponsors, all of the businesses and individuals who donated to our silent auction, and all of volunteers who made this event run smoothly!

How does this make a difference in people’s lives? One Inside Out member stated, “Don’t plant seeds where others won’t water them. Inside Out taught me to focus on really getting help and being the light in a community. Who I need and don’t need, the guidance a lot of us seek, but don’t know how to find.”

We hope we continue to be a light for others in need.

Staff Spotlights!

Sean Flanagan

Sean Flanagan has served as the Housing Coordinator with Inside Out Reentry Community since August of 2024. Sean’s primary responsibilities are case management, program development, care coordination, and applicant coordination. Prior to his work with Inside Out, Sean studied at the University of Iowa, where he received a B.A. in Social Work. In his free time, Sean enjoys cheering for Chicago sports (minus the White Sox) and listening to and playing a wide array of different types of music.

Julia Barbuzza de Juarez

Julia Barbuzza de Juarez has served as a Case Manager since October of 2024. As a Case Manager Julia’s responsponsibilities are case management, program development, care coordination, new member intakes, facilitating Coffee and Connects. Prior to her work with Inside Out, Julia studied at the University of Iowa, where she received a B.A. in International Studies Emphasis Area Latin America with a minor in Spanish. In her free time Julia enjoys gardening, walking her two dogs, and spending time with her 15-year-old son.

Posted: April 8, 2024 by InsideOut Reentry

Simulation helps community members understand challenges after incarceration

Community members, educators, employers and others are encouraged to learn how individuals, after serving prison time, face a multiple challenges reentering the community and finding employment during a reentry simulation event held later this month.

Inside Out Reentry Community, an Iowa City nonprofit, is holding the event from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 19, at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 140 Gathering Place Lane, in Iowa City. During the first 90 minutes of the event, participants will be given a fictional identity of an individual attempting to reenter the community following a criminal conviction.

Participants will navigate through “multiple difficult tasks” and gain insight into the hardships that come with parole. Following the stimulation, organization officials will have a 30-minute debrief and panel discussion, featuring firsthand experiences and stories of individuals who have gone through this process.
This is a public outreach event for the community and is free for participants. However, space is limited and an RSVP is necessary.
If you go
What: Inside Out reentry simulation
Where: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 140 Gathering Place Lane, Iowa City
When: 1 to 3 p.m. April 19
Cost: Free
Details: RSVP required at [email protected] or (319) 338-7996

Michelle Heinz, executive director of Inside Out Reentry Community, said the organization is anticipating about 50 people will attend this year’s simulation. There still is space left for individuals to register, but it is filling up quickly, so she suggested signing up as soon as possible.

The simulations are an “eye-opening experience,” Heinz said.

“Individuals who attend often comment on how challenging it is and how it helps them gain a greater understanding of the obstacles that people face,” Heinz added.

Read more at The Gazette. Written by Trish Mehaffey, April 3, 2024.

Last Updated: February 12, 2024 by InsideOut Reentry

Iowa City art exhibit highlights creativity while incarcerated

Five drawings by Shawn Lurkens are displayed as part of the “Art from the Inside Out” art show in Iowa City, but — like Lurkens’ dealings with the criminal justice system — none of them are finished.

All of the artists whose art is displayed in the show — which runs through Feb. 16 at Public Space One in Iowa City — are people who have been or are still incarcerated in jails or prisons in Iowa. Lurkens spent about six months in jail in Linn County and is now living in a residential correctional facility.

Lurkens started drawing as a way to pass the time while he was in jail. He said it served as a form of meditation for him.

“It was the only way I could really relax while I was in jail,” Lurkens said. “I could get lost in it for hours.”

His pieces that are displayed in the free art show use symmetry and nature to explore abstract concepts like “Eternal Love” and “Spiritual Wisdom.” The pieces were originally drawn in black and white while he was in jail. He started to add color after he was released to the halfway house. There still is color missing, because Lurkens plans to finish his artwork after he finishes his stay at the residential facility.

Read more at The Gazette. Written by Emily Andersen.

Posted: May 23, 2023 by InsideOut Reentry

Johnson County nonprofit to open reentry house for formerly incarcerated men

Inside Out, a Johnson County nonprofit organization that supports people returning to society after being incarcerated, will be opening a reentry house in Iowa City for low-income, formerly incarcerated men.

The house, at 719 Page St., was recently purchased and will be home to up to six men at a time. Residents will be able to stay in the house for up to two years, and Inside Out staff will be available to help them find jobs, community resources and new housing when the time comes. The rent will be $500 a month, and will include all utilities.

“There are a lot of folks that are trying to get out of prison, but they don’t have a place to go,” Michelle Heinz, executive director of Inside Out, said. “We’ve seen it over and over again, folks getting out and just not being able to find a place to live. And if you can’t find a roof over your head, then everything else just kind of tumbles around you.”

Read more at The Gazette. Written by Emily Andersen.