Life After Prison

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Adjusting to everyday life after a prison or jail sentence is challenging for a number of reasons. On an interpersonal level, former inmates often come home to family and friends who have a bevy of expectations, feelings and/or questions. This is especially true when it comes to the kids and teens of ex-convicts. Youth may wonder "Can I trust my parent?," "Didn't they choose crime over me?," "Doesn't breaking the law make you a 'bad' person?," "Why did my parent do what they did?," "Will they leave me again?," and "Why should I obey them?" There's a tendency to exaggerate criminal history details to children or avoid discussion all together, but that typically does more harm than good. While having such a conservation is no doubt uncomfortable,