The federal government recently released more than 6,000 inmates from custody. It's the first wave of what will be some 4,600 people whose sentences for drug offenses were eased by the United States Sentencing Commission.
Eighty-three of those federal prisoners were in Michigan when they were sentenced.
The Stateside staff wondered what kind of help there is for newly released inmates in Michigan trying to find their footing in the outside world. In our research we discovered a West Michigan group called Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program – K-PEP.
It runs residential and outpatient programs for offenders. It's a community-based alternative to incarceration.
K-PEP President and CEO Bill DeBoer talks about how a prisoner, who may have spent years behind bars, takes the first steps towards a new life.
