Associate Editor Mary Bandstra sits down with two members of the Saint Leonard’s Ministries leadership, Executive Director Zack Schrantz and Intake & Housing Manager David Harris, to discuss the work they do with people who have been impacted by incarceration. Zack, David, and Mary discuss collateral consequences of criminal convictions, strategies to reduce recidivism, and the healing power of community.

Saint Leonard’s Ministries is a social service agency in Chicago that has been providing holistic services to people who have been impacted by incarceration for seventy years. Recently, Loyola University Chicago School of law has partnered with Saint Leonard’s to provide a legal referral service to the Saint Leonard’s community.

Research & Sources:

To learn more about collateral consequences of criminal convictions, see The National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction: https://niccc.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/

For a Podvocate primer on collateral consequences, listen to Casey Callahan’s Collateral Consequences episode: https://soundcloud.com/thepodvocate/collateral-consequences

To learn more about the City of Chicago’s initiatives to address challenges of re-entry, see the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor Re-entry resources: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/reentry/home.html

Resources:

To learn more about St. Leonard’s Ministries: visit https://slministries.org/about/about-saint-leonards/