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The First Year Out of Prison (2020)

Makeda Davis emerged from more than seven years in prison to a life that is complicated, unfamiliar, and, sometimes, soul crushing.

While she rejoined the college program she had started during her first prison stint, she mostly stayed close to where she slept, in a dormitory with a metal bed frame and locker, refusing to talk to people, declining invites for card or domino games. He tells her what Fortune offers: help applying for public assistance and the benefits to which she is entitled, such as food stamps or health insurance, access to lawyers, job-placement services, and parole-required programs, along with free hot meals for clients. Also, there are some 45,000 federal and state statutes and regulations that can affect a convicted person’s ability to get and stay on his or her feet, an American Bar Association project found, ranging from not always qualifying for food stamps to being prohibited from working or volunteering with children.

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