$6.9M Will Fund Banning's Prisoner Release Program, Community Responds

BANNING, CA—A new state-funded $6.9 million grant will pay for housing, workforce training, and other services in Banning. The grant is earmarked for newly released inmates who could otherwise contribute to the City's ongoing homelessness crisis, the city announced in a Tuesday news conference.

"All cities are going through the same thing," Banning's mayor Alberto Sanchez said. "We're just doing something about it."

The grant provides for the new Banning Re-entry and Community Safety Project, which hopes to reduce repeat criminal behavior by addressing the underlying substance abuse, mental health disorders, homelessness, and other factors that contribute to recidivism, Sanchez said.

The 3-year long grant allows for providing fully funded "wraparound" services to an identified 900 former inmates, recently released from the Larry J. Smith Correctional Facility, who have nowhere to go.

According to Sanchez, the former inmates will receive pre-release planning before leaving the correctional facility. Once they are released, they will receive a “warm handoff” to coordinate services and connect to meet the needs of housing, substance abuse, and/or mental health services. According to the grant proposal, each former inmate will receive "intense navigation and follow-up. " The project will "provide housing, workforce training, jobs, and other support to help offenders acquire gainful employment," Sanchez said, adding that the grant has "built-in oversight to ensure accountability and fiscal responsibility."

The City of Banning will partner with the correctional facility and three community-based organizations, the North Shore Community Church; Step Up on Second; and the Salvation Army. All will work together to implement the project.

"We're going to try and be a beacon of light for other cities and municipalities with this program," Sanchez said.

City manager Doug Schulze also commented on the program.

"If you drive around Banning, it's not difficult to notice the number of (Riverside County correctional services) in the community. While we understand those services are needed, we understand the impact those services have had on our small community. For decades, we have had homeless and transient populations on our streets, many incarcerated individuals with no plan who repeat the cycle of criminal activity."

The city's proactive approach has been successful, but homelessness is not an easy problem to solve, Schulze says.

"I'm extremely grateful for the grant awarded and the city council's direction in providing resources for newly freed inmates," he said. "Participants who receive services are less likely to recidivate than those just released by the corrections department. I'm confident this project will see amazing results over the next three years."

Residents responded over Instagram with both hopeful comments and concern for the future of their town.

"Wow, 6.9 million is a lot of money," one person wrote. "I hope to see some improvements in the homeless population in the next coming year."

Another commenter wrote, "What a joke. Banning is a hub for homelessness, it's expected." Another answered the commenter, saying,"You need to do something to address it; obviously, doing nothing isn't helping."

Director of Homeless Services Jeff Platt added his thoughts on what the project will mean for the town's ongoing homelessness issues.

"This should be just as successful as Opportunity Village, if not more successful," he predicted. "It will change the lives of people just coming out of jail. It takes a village to fix a village."

See the full statement here: