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The Humboldt County Correctional Facility is smack dab in the middle of Eureka and plays a vital role in the community — keeping criminals off the street of course. But the jail’s recidivism rate is 85 percent, meaning after people are released, they end up back in a life of crime and then once again behind bars. This happens over and over.

However the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s programs department has become very proactive in trying to educate the public about the effects of incarceration and to help those who are locked up at the county jail find ways to break the cycle.

The department spent months preparing two weeks of criminal justice events. Next week it will host a reentry fair for the jail’s inmates, preparing them for a successful release. This week it is holding a criminal justice dialogue series — gatherings to discuss challenges and identify resources related to currently and formerly incarcerated people.

This is only the third year of the criminal justice dialogue but it serves as a catalyst for innovation in Humboldt’s evolving criminal justice system.

The Sheriff’s Office inmate programs coordinator, Vanessa Vrtiak, organized the events. They came to fruition with support from HSU sociology department staff and students, and the county’s probation department. Vrtiak was personally impacted by the system as a youth, having an incarcerated parent at the Humboldt County jail.

She says, “I see the value in people being supported after incarceration. It trickles down to our whole community, 95 percent of people will be returning to their community, so why not invest in these folks and give them a second chance.”

This week an array of organizations are presenting to local high schools, at Humboldt State University and at the correctional facility. Topics range from housing barriers for those with a criminal background, to sharing personal stories about incarceration, to higher education on the inside and outside, and more.

In this LoCO Video Report we attend the event; The impacts of incarceration on families. Project WHAT! out of Oakland is the guest speaker. The program employs youth who’ve had an incarcerated parent, while raising awareness about the hardship in an effort improve services and policies.

This week’s events will wrap up Friday night with a community round table discussion at HSU’s Goodwin Forum.