Washtenaw County-based nonprofit Life After Incarceration: Transition and Reentry (LAITR) is working closely with Ypsilanti Township officials to provide paid work opportunities to returning citizens and others who have been impacted by the justice system. Through the Supportive Hands in Neighborhood Enhancement (SHINE) program, LAITR hopes for its employees to "gain skills, pride, and comradery."

"We often notice that having a background in justice involvement can make it difficult to find or maintain a job," says Elyse Boyle, LAITR's vice president and an occupational therapist. "We always want to have a work program where our clients can build up their skills to find and maintain work."

SHINE is currently in its pilot stage after Ypsilanti Township officials approached LAITR to reinstate a work program the township offered before the COVID-19 pandemic. The program employs justice-involved individuals in need of work to clean up "high-needs zones" in the township for pay. The program currently employs five individuals who work throughout the township beautifying public spaces and neighborhoods. 

"Some of our guys had to do this job for free as part of their time in prison, so it’s empowering for the community to see them doing dignified work, choosing to do so, and getting paid well to do it," Boyle says. "We want to put out positivity and a good image to the community while destigmatizing incarceration or being a justice-involved individual."

LAITR is a relatively new resource in Washtenaw County. Occupational therapist Ariana Gonzalez founded it as an LLC in 2020 and the organization received nonprofit status last winter. The nonprofit currently does not have a base of operations, but has offered services and opportunities through a Community Network Center at the former Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office substation at 1405 Holmes Rd. in Ypsi Township. The center also sports a mural painted by a LAITR client, who came to Boyle with goals of giving back to the Ypsi community by teaching art classes. 

In addition to SHINE, LAITR offers individual and group occupational therapy sessions to clients, covering topics such as emotional regulation, time management, and relationship building. Because LAITR doesn’t currently have a permanent office space for clients to come to, Boyle and the rest of the LAITR occupational therapy team often meet clients where they are comfortable and on their own schedules.

"Occupational therapy covers anything and everything you need to do in life," Boyle says. "We specialize in task analysis and trauma-informed care, which is how we ended up with this work program and a few other programs we’re working on as well."

To learn more about LAITR and the SHINE program, or for information about volunteer opportunities, visit LAITR's website or Facebook page. 

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photos courtesy of LAITR.