Reintegration

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By Tony Lowden

America has one of the highest recidivism rates in the world with 44% of incarcerated individuals returning to prison within one year of release. We must come together as a nation to support returning citizens by giving them the resources and education they need to successfully break the incarceration cycle and reintegrate into society.

I was recently in Franklin, Ohio visiting a transitional facility that focuses on jobs and reintegration. I met with two cohorts of short timers during my visit and shared my 4 Ps: You have to change your playground, playthings, and playmates in order to find your purpose.

Change your playground

Getting a fresh start in a new environment can cut negative influences or triggers for criminal behavior. Studies show that returning citizens who relocate are less likely to recidivate than those who do not, with one study finding that relocation halved recidivism rates. Here at ViaPath Technologies, we offer housing resources for incarcerated individuals so that they can better prepare themselves for post-release life by positioning themselves in environments that support healthy reintegration. We understand that building a new community is key to cultivating the stability that breaks the cycle of incarceration.

Change your playmates

Building healthy relationships is essential to successful reintegration. Simply returning to old friend groups can lock you into the same influences and patterns that led to previous criminal behavior. Corrections facilities often provide a variety of programs designed to promote healthy lifestyles which returning citizens can – and should – continue using after release. Intentionally transitioning into new circles with friends who support and exemplify better lifestyles can offer a sense of belonging outside the criminal world, which reduces the chances of returning to criminal activities.

Change your playthings

Changing your activities incorporates both employment opportunities and leisure time. Research has shown that stable employment is a key factor in reducing recidivism. Change can begin before release, with many correctional facilities providing opportunities to enhance hireability through programs with tangible results such as earning GEDs, enhancing literacy or receiving vocational training. Taking advantage of these programs offers returning citizens the opportunity to gain financial independence, which reduces the economic incentives for criminal activities and provides purpose. Intentionally engaging in constructive leisure activities helps reduce exposure to old influences while cultivating positive interactions with society.

Find your purpose

Discovering your purpose is the most important part of successfully reintegrating into society. Incarceration shouldn’t be wasted time – it’s a unique and valuable opportunity to break old habits and learn new skills. Partnering with organizations such as ViaPath and our staffing agency 2C Workforce Solutions to make the most of a fresh start can be the key to finding the purpose that breaks the cycle of incarceration.

Tony Lowden
Chief Social Impact Officer of ViaPath Technologies

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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A White Paper for Correctional Facilities 

Correctional facilities implement reintegration programs that focus on areas that reduce the possibility of future reoffending for formerly incarcerated individuals (e.g., education, employment, substance, etc.), but reentry skills alone do not prepare inmates for a successful community reintegration. Fortunately, combining digital technology with reintegration programs can enhance reentry preparation.

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About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 5, 2023 – ViaPath Technologies, a global corrections technology leader which facilitates successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, today announced the promotion of Tony Lowden to Chief Social Impact Officer. Lowden previously served as Vice President of Reintegration & Community Engagement. 

“Tony has been an indispensable member of our leadership team whose decades of experience and expertise have helped ViaPath change the lives of millions of people,” said ViaPath CEO Deb Alderson. “As Chief Social Impact Officer, Tony will further galvanize our mission to provide justice-involved individuals the education, training, and resources they need to successfully reintegrate into their communities.” 

In his new role, Lowden will be responsible for ViaPath’s social impact initiatives including second chance hiring, community engagement, and reentry efforts. He will also work with ViaPath’s leadership team and partners to leverage opportunities for community support and build collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, community leaders, and civic and political decision-makers. 

Lowden brings more than 20 years of experience helping incarcerated youths and adults access educational and career opportunities and become contributing members of their communities. In 2012, he was appointed by former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal as the State Charter School Commissioner. He has also served as the Project Coordinator for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and as the Director of Faith and Justice Initiative for the Georgia Governor’s Office of Transition Support and Reentry. Lowden founded and is the former Executive Director of STONE Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk children in Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County. 

Prior to joining ViaPath in 2022, Lowden served as the Chaplain for the Secret Service in southwest Georgia. He was also appointed by the White House in 2020 to serve as the Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. Lowden is the pastor of former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. 

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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Antonio formerly served a 10-year sentence at a state DOC. Now he is an Associate Product Manager at ViaPath Technologies.  

In this video, learn how rehabilitative education transformed Antonio’s life and helped break the cycle of incarceration. 

Antonio never understood what it meant to be free until he wasn’t anymore.  

At a young age, Antonio’s life took a difficult turn, and he began walking down a path of wrong decisions that eventually resulted in him losing his freedom and serving a 10-year sentence at a state Department of Corrections.  

He knew that if we wanted to survive, if he wanted to move forward, he needed help. 

Antonio’s story is similar to many peoples’ in the United States, but many don’t get a second chance. According to the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS), more than 600,000 individuals across the U.S. are released from state and federal prisons each year. The agency also reports that more than two-thirds of those released are likely to be re-arrested within three years due to a lack of rehabilitative education in prisons, reintegration skills, and employment opportunities. 

But when Antonio discovered ViaPath Technology at his facility, everything changed.  

More than 300,000 of ViaPath’s tablets reach nearly 500,000 incarcerated individuals across the United States. This technology allows people like Antonio to maintain contact with their loved ones, enroll in rehabilitation education programs tailored specifically for those justice-impacted and be better equipped to reintegrate back into society.  

The process to change begins on the worst day. By providing incarcerated individuals with opportunities to improve, develop and grow, ViaPath is helping people get a second chance and have hope for a brighter tomorrow. 

To learn more about how ViaPath is transforming corrections through its rehabilitative education services visit www.viapath.com. 

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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4-Part Podcast Series

ViaPath Technologies recently teamed up with Right Thinking with Steve Coplon podcast to produce an exclusive 4-part series highlighting the importance of supporting returning citizens, their families, and communities as a whole.  

In this series, Steve Coplon, founder of the Right Thinking Foundation, interviews four ViaPath employees that share their stories of faith, change, and redemption. Listen in to hear their perspectives on incarceration and reintegration, and their tips to others who may share a similar journey.  

“Better Days” – Episode #292 with Tony Lowden 
In part one of the series, ViaPath Technologies’ Vice President of Reintegration and Community Engagement, Tony Lowden, shares insights on the importance of reducing recidivism and  ViaPath’s vision to provide the incarcerated population with resources that will help them gain access to the tools and experience needed to successfully return back to society.  

“I Understand” – Episode #293 with Antonio Sadler 
In the second episode of the series, Coplon interviews Antonio Sadler who shares his story of redemption. Hear how Antonio’s changed mindset led him to take advantage of the resources, tools, and programs available to him. One program gave him the opportunity to completely rebuild his life after incarceration. Antonio is now an Associate Product Manager at ViaPath Technologies.  

“Take Advantage of the Opportunities” – Episode #294 with Chris Washington  
In the third part of the series, Christopher Washington shares how he found his way into the Georgetown University Pivot Program after being incarcerated at a federal prison. He speaks about how through the program he was able to obtain a college education and have an opportunity to gain the job skills and training needed to become an asset professionally – eventually landing a full-time position at ViaPath Technologies. 

“Giving Back in a Very Special Way” – Episode #295 with Seth Sundberg 
To close out the four-part “Pathway to Success” podcast series, Coplon interviews Seth Sundberg, Product Manager at ViaPath Technologies. Seth shares lessons he learned from his own journey going from the NBA to being incarcerated to becoming a world-class entrepreneur. Ultimately, his story captures his passion for wanting to help create opportunities for other formerly incarcerated individuals.  

The Right Thinking with Steve Coplon podcast covers a multitude of topics in hopes of encouraging anyone who is facing, or has faced, adversity. While the podcast features heartfelt and relatable stories, as the host of the show, Coplon weighs in offering helpful strategies on how to cultivate a better, fuller life.   

In addition, Coplon has been providing financial and business training, mentorship, and resources to incarcerated individuals since 2014. He understands personal finance is a crucial part of survival after being incarcerated and is one of the keys to successful reintegration. Which is why ViaPath is proud to have Coplon as an exclusive partner and offer his two-part financial literacy program on ViaPath Inspire Tablets to help incarcerated individuals better prepare for life after release. 

To listen to the entire four-part podcast series, visit:

Right Thinking With Steve Coplon

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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Partnership between leading corrections technology leaders will give incarcerated individuals preparing for reentry access to more than 1,000 U.S. employers

OCTOBER 25, 2022 (Falls Church, VA) — ViaPath Technologies, a company which facilitates connections, educational opportunities, and successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, has formally announced a partnership with Honest Jobs, the leading national job marketplace for people affected by the criminal justice system. Individuals preparing for reentry at correctional facilities served by ViaPath will now have the ability to look for and land well-paying, in-demand jobs through Honest Jobs’ online job board.   

“An important component of successful reintegration and reducing recidivism is ensuring that incarcerated individuals have the skills and opportunities to find good paying and rewarding jobs,” said Deb Alderson, CEO of ViaPath Technologies. “ViaPath is proud to be working with Honest Jobs, an industry leader in second chance hiring which has demonstrated a proven track record of success for thousands of individuals deserving of a second chance.” 

Incarcerated individuals can access the Honest Jobs platform right from their secure Inspire® Tablet, which provides educational content, job training classes and helps maintain contact with their loved ones. Since October 2021, incarcerated users in correctional facilities across the country have completed more than 3 million hours of online course work on the Inspire® tablet.  

Honest Jobs offers job applicants a free, easy-to-use online job board of companies across the United States that they have certified as committed to fair chance hiring. In addition to help with job placement and resume writing, Honest Jobs also offers a national “Digital Resource Center” for formerly incarcerated individuals to help them with other critical post-release needs, including transportation, housing and more.     

“There is a growing movement throughout the country to remove the barriers and stigma that are often associated with people who have a criminal record,” said Honest Jobs CEO Harley Blakeman. “Through our partnership with ViaPath Technologies, we will now be able to connect more incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals with employers who are opening their doors to them.”   

It is estimated that 77 million Americans, or 1 in 3 adults, have a criminal record, and more than 600,000 individuals are released from federal and state prisons annually.  

ViaPath currently offers access to the Honest Jobs platform in 150 facilities, and projects to expand access to 158 additional facilities served by ViaPath by the end of 2022.  

About Honest Jobs 

Honest Jobs is the leading national job marketplace for people affected by the criminal justice system. Since launching in 2019, we have attracted over 1,000 companies by providing technology that makes it easy to offer fair-chance employment while helping to mitigate the risk of negligent hiring at scale. We also pride ourselves on the fact that the majority of our employees at Honest Jobs have felony convictions. To learn more, please visit honestjobs.co.  

About ViaPath Technologies

ViaPath provides advanced communications, technology and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reintegration for both current and formerly incarcerated individuals. ViaPath is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with an employee presence throughout North America. To learn more, please visit viapath.com.

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