Re-Entry Center at the Joint Processing Center
The Re-entry center opened in the Joint Processing Center in 2019. This is the last stop for inmates being released from the Harris County Jail. Several community agencies have offices in the Re-entry Center, including the following: The Beacon, Mental Health America of Greater Houston, City of Houston, SERJobs and The Harris Center. The Re-entry Center provides assistance with employment, mental health treatment, housing, voter registration, veteran services, health care, legal assistance, identification and clothing.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has robust re-entry programs. The programs are designed to target vulnerable populations of men and women incarcerated in the Harris County Jail. The programs seek to connect, collaborate and build a continuum with strong community partners transitioning people back into their communities better than they were before they were incarcerated. Participants are screened, assessed and assigned a case manager. They are linked to support groups, receive job skills training, life skills and financial education. They also receive advocacy through court liaisons, are connected to housing resources, and are provided with basic needs and medical services. The following are the Re-entry Services programs:
- Mentoring Moms, a program for pregnant women
- The Freedom Project, provides substance abuse treatment
- Stars and Stripes, a program for military veterans
- Project EVOL-VE, a program for prostitutes and victims of human sex trafficking
- Creative Writing, a program for veterans provided by Inprint Houston, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring readers and writers