Preparing for Life After Prison | A Day with Reentry Coordinator Kevin Yancey

What does it take to help someone prepare for life after prison? Go inside Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri with Kevin Yancey, an institutional reentry coordinator helping incarcerated individuals plan their next steps. In this episode of Prison Life Media’s Day in the Life series, Kevin shares his journey from corrections officer to case management, restorative justice, and prison reentry. Along the way, he discovered how much helping others could change his own life. Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated individuals are released from U.S. prisons each year. In 2023, state and federal prisons reported approximately 453,200 releases, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Preparing for that transition means addressing real questions: Where will I live? How will I find work? What steps can I take to build a different future? For Kevin, those questions give his work purpose. Whether he’s exploring transitional housing options, teaching goal-setting, or helping someone through a difficult day, his approach starts with seeing the person in front of him. This episode explores: • Prison reentry and preparing for release • Housing challenges and the transition back to the community • Accountability, restorative justice, and personal growth • Professional dynamics between Corrections staff and inmates • The faith and sense of purpose behind Kevin’s work • How preparation for life after prison connects to public safety Meet a corrections professional whose career has taught him to care more deeply, and see the everyday work behind helping people move forward. Subscribe to Prison Life Media for more Day in the Life episodes and stories about the people who live and work inside corrections. Release statistics source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prisoners in 2023 – Statistical Tables https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/p23st.pdf #PrisonReentry #DayInTheLife #PrisonLifeMedia