A closer look at community: faith and monitoring programs

We know that interpersonal relationships, connections to loved ones, and aspirational relationships can support a person’s reentry journey. Simply having someone to talk to or receiving words of encouragement from a mentor can enormously transform a person’s day and keep them in compliance with their monitoring or reentry programs. 

A study from Harvard released in 2019 notes that mentorship relationships and far-reaching social networks benefit people who are transitioning from prison into communities. For many Americans, such relationships are borne out of religious settings. According to Pew Research Group’s most recent survey, 76.5% of Americans identify themselves as a member of a faith group. This represents an enormous portion of the population and indicates that many participants in monitoring programs likely would self-identify as a members of a religion. 

As community monitoring technology developers, Corrisoft believes that our products should support practices that positively benefit the outcomes of participants. Here are a few reasons to consider how your monitoring technologies might support religious involvement and the positive outcomes associated with such memberships.

For those involved, religious communities can improve mental health outcomes

While the traditions, beliefs, and practices vary based on your beliefs, faith-based programs generally promote positive moral behavior and create guardrails that guide followers toward ethical behavior. This structure in combination with the communal benefits of corporate worship can support positive mental health outcomes according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

We know that mental well-being plays an enormous role in supporting outcomes in reentry programs, so allowing program participants to prioritize participation in their faith can contribute to their overall wellness, thus contributing to program compliance.

Honoring the sanctity of religious tradition can be better achieved with smartphone-based monitoring

Participation in religious ceremonies and traditions is a critical component of membership in a faith community. Centuries-old rituals may not allow for the use of technology, or may even prohibit participating congregants from bringing technology into the worship space.

This creates a problem for members who are wearing monitoring devices – the technology cannot be removed for the ceremony and participants may not have access to communication tools that explain the need for temporary device removal.

Smartphone-based monitoring can be left in shared spaces where other participants are leaving their devices, and two-way channels of communication can affirm that the monitoring program participant is at a house of worship and participating in a ritual that does not allow for technology. This simple shift allows participants to engage in positive community interactions, build accountability with their program overseers, and honor the sanctity of their faith.

Faith doesn’t have to be part of every person’s reentry journey, but supporting participants to whom faith is important can strengthen monitoring programs

Spiritualism, faith, and religion take many forms, but all are highly regarded as positive practices for a person’s mental well-being. Corrisoft believes that creating pathways for people to participate in their community – like faith-based groups – without stigma can improve outcomes and strengthen relationships between monitoring organizations and their participants.

To learn more, we encourage you to connect with our team using the form below.