The Elizabethtown College Criminal Justice Department recently co-hosted an on-campus reentry simulation with Lancaster County Reentry Coalition and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Friday, March 28.
The event depicted the significant challenges faced by recently incarcerated individuals who are transitioning back into the community through an exercise that allowed Etown students to walk in the shoes of a reentrant during their first month home from prison.
“Participating in events such as the reentry simulation allows our Criminal Justice students to recognize and address challenges within the system and prepares them to be educated future leaders of the criminal justice system,” Elizabethtown College Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Kadee Crandall said. “We hope to foster compassion, awareness, and conversations surrounding the barriers and support services involved in reentry.”
A sample wallet given to a Reentry Simulation participant, along with a weekly task schedule.
The event was staffed by volunteers from Etown and the Lancaster County Reentry Coalition, including reentrants, who provided their lived experiences after the simulation.
Etown students began the simulation by being given a life story and a wallet, which included a collection of crucial items similar to what a reentrant may have available when re-entering society, such as forms of identification, money, and transportation tickets. Participants then went through an hour-long simulation, which was divided into 15-minute segments to represent individual weeks. Each “week,” participants had to keep up with their appointments by traveling to different stations such as a medical clinic, social services, probation, and a counseling treatment center.
“The simulation was extremely overwhelming, which is exactly how reentrants feel when they first exit jail or prison,” Elizabethtown College Psychology and Criminal Justice double major, Leandra McMahon ’26 said. “It was a very useful tool to show aspects of the criminal justice system most of us won’t get to see but should be made aware of.”
Four panelists spoke to Etown students about their experiences with the reentry process.
During the simulation, participants were dealt chance cards, representing unforeseen hurdles reentrants can face, like a broken-down car. If students were unable to complete tasks during their allotted time, they ran the risk of being re-incarcerated.
A guided discussion was held after the simulation, where participants could share their experiences and frustrations, followed by a panel of speakers that consisted of four reentrants.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania hosts Reentry Simulations across its jurisdiction to help provide an understanding of the challenges faced by individuals returning home from incarceration.
Photos from the event can be viewed on the College’s Flickr page.
About Etown’s Criminal Justice Program
Students majoring in Criminal Justice at Elizabethtown College gain a strong ability to conduct research, analyze information, and think critically about topics like relationship building and community interactions. This major prepares students to be employed in Criminal Justice related fields with skills that set them apart from graduates of other programs or to enter a graduate degree program in a related field. Learn more.
