New Web Site Helps Phila. Ex-Offenders Return To Productive Life
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's a bold new tool to help those getting out of prison make the transition to law-abiding citizen.
It's Phillyreentry.com, a one-stop shop for all sorts of services that ex-offenders and those concerned for them can access.
Ann Schwartzman, of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, one of the site's sponsors, says this affects more people than you might think.
"We have 50,000 people incarcerated in the state, another 10,000 incarcerated in Philadelphia alone. We have roughly 30,000 people on parole and probation in the City of Philadelphia, but we have approximately 200,000 people that are formerly incarcerated," she notes.
The site is free to use. Someone might use it to search, for example,
- Service: addiction treatment,
- Language: English,
- Travel radius: 10 miles.
Then, boom -- there's a map pinpointing providers, from which you could even get transit information.
Schwartzman says one of the best things is that the site is constantly updated, unlike a stack of paper directories.
