Mat-Su Reentry Coalition offers new beginnings for former inmates

As 2025 ends and a new year is beginning, many are thinking about the new opportunities coming this year. The possibilities of setting new goals, embracing change, and believing in your ability to grow and write your own story.

That is the mission for the Mat-Su Reentry Coalition and Coordinator Barbara Mongar. The Mat-Su Reentry Coalition is a partnership of community members, public and nonprofit agencies, faith-based groups, and businesses, all committed to reducing recidivism among returning citizens in the Mat-Su community.

The Mat-Su Reentry Coalition, along with the Mat-Su Reentry Program, is housed within Valley Charities, Inc. “Our Mission is to promote public safety by identifying and implementing strategies that increase formerly incarcerated individuals' well-being within the community and reduce the likelihood of their return to prison.”

The Mat-Su Reentry Coalition (MSRC) and its partners provide hands-on support for Alaskans leaving incarceration and successfully returning to their communities, helping with employment, housing, and access to treatment and healthcare, taking steps to reduce recidivism.

One such person is a former inmate known as Todd C. who says the services MSRC offer have been invaluable, from the time he was nearing his release all the way up to now, as he still works with case managers even after being released over a year and half ago.

“Initially a parole officer had talked to me about it (the program),” he says, though the information he was given he says was vague, and no one could fill in the blanks about what specifically the program could do for him. Todd says he wasn’t sure what the future held and didn’t know what he was going to do. It wasn’t until he met a former inmate who had gone through the program after his own incarceration that Todd got a phone number, made the call, and when he was released, he met with a case manager from MSRC.

“Right off the bat, he was like, ‘here’s your phone, we’re gonna go shopping, this is what we need to do.’ He helped get me going.” The case manager reassured Todd that he wasn’t going to do him wrong.

“I had nothing up here. I didn’t have any family, my friends that had lived up here were all long gone, so I was on my own.” He recounts that the first month he was out of prison, he lived in a used travel wagon, a little tiny trailer as he calls it, during a February out in Hatcher Pass. He says he was lucky as it had a little heater, living in it on a friend’s property, with access to a bathroom and a kitchen. “It worked out.”

But while he had someplace to live temporarily, Todd says he really had nothing. “I had nothing. But with the re-entry program, I started to build up.” He says he met people who further helped him, getting him to meetings, and with the help of case managers from MSRC, he was able to get to meetings with his parole officer, meet with potential employers, whatever he needed.

Todd knew what his priorities were, but after serving over 16 years, almost 1/3 of his life, it was rough not having things most don’t think about, such as credit history, recent employment history, or a transportation. “It was very difficult to get anything. What I needed to do was I needed to find a place to live, that wasn’t a trailer, I needed to find transportation, and I needed to get a job. And I pretty much had to do it in that order.”

One thing Todd says that actually helped him get back on his feet was being transparent with those he interacted with, telling them who he was and where he’d been, notably why he’d been there, and this is what he was trying to do with his life.

He says that he made between nearly 100 calls and inquiries to find an apartment, and recalls on one occasion going to look at a studio apartment, telling the couple--who would later become his landlords--about his past before setting foot in the apartment, he thought he was done, knowing that other tentative renters with jobs and no criminal history were interested in the same apartment would likely get it.

“His wife was blown away at the utter honesty and sincerity, and decided to rent (it) to me. So I had a home,” he recalls with a smile. While he would need help from others for the deposit, Todd says the MSRC helped him with rent those first few months, as well as those initial items all people need when starting fresh. “I went shopping…they had a list of stuff that I’d need to get started.”

He credits the MSRC for also helping with funding for a title for a used truck he had found, as well as auto insurance for the first six months, “In terms of how they assisted me right off the bat, I can never repay. Now I’ve got a home. Now I’ve got a vehicle. And then it was time to find a job.”

Todd had a background as a journeyman level chef, having worked at several restaurants, and though it was not something he particularly wanted to do for a living, he needed a job, and he took one at a local restaurant, getting hired on the spot with an “above-average” wage. He was on his way.

“No matter what, you’re still needing things. Work clothes, work shoes, and for what I couldn’t fill in, and what others couldn’t fill in, I got a lot of assistance from the re-entry program.” The reason? “There’s just some good people here.”

Todd has since moved on from his chef job to a working in construction, which as most know, often dries up in the winter, so he has utilized the money management resources at MSRC to help make ends meet during those few months. “Things like that just sometimes happen, and it can make it difficult for someone, so I am grateful for them.”

The MSRC has also helped him deal with other, more personal issues as a result of his incarceration, from self-doubt to anxiety attacks, which he dealt with especially the first months after his release. “You do not do this much time without being highly, adversely affected.” He says the first four months after his release, he suffered anxiety attacks and self-doubt. He recounts an episode while out shopping with a case manager.

“Going into a grocery store was rough. There’s a lot of people in there, a lot of things going on. You might not think of it being a hard place to be…but I lived in a highly-regimented, structured atmosphere with limited positive stimulation and things to make you happy, so going to the grocery store, I was on edge.” Todd says while the case manager had gone to grab a replacement item for a damaged bag of frozen fries, something he wasn’t immediately aware of, and when he went to look for her, she was gone. It sent him into what he called a full-blown anxiety attack. He says that while he didn’t pass out or disassociate, it was debilitating, leaving him feeling as if he was on the verge of a heart attack. “They can be terrifying.” He says it doesn’t happen now, but can be the reality for many inmates upon release. But it was having the case managers and staff there to talk to that helped.

Upon meeting with Todd last year, he presented as any other hard-working individual, with nothing identifying him as a former inmate or ex-con, but he says that while he was in, he had to change who he was in order to get along. “I had to be something else. I had to be someone else, because that’s just the nature.” He keeps a picture of that former version of himself “Sometimes it’s good to see a picture of what somebody was, and (a picture) of what somebody wants to be in order to live. I wasn’t a bad guy, but I was a good guy either. …That’s not how I wanted to live, but that’s how it was.”

Todd says he also went through three different parole officers in a short span of time, which in itself can be challenging as they all had different expectations.

He says that’s important to know in order to understand the stress placed upon inmates when they are released. “The stress of trying to realize who you are and who you want to be, and sometimes all of this will come together successfully, and sometimes, for some, it’s just easier to go back. It’s just easier. It’s less stress. I know what I had to look forward to every day. And I had those thoughts before, but I’m not going to do them.” Todd says that sometimes, the mental health piece of re-entry isn’t recognized, and it isn’t something easy to admit to a parole officer.

Todd knows he is unique, knows that there is a high likelihood of recidivism for many inmates, but he is determined to not be one of the statistics, and he says he owes that in large part to the Mat-Su Reentry Coalition and the case managers he has worked with. “Every time I’ve needed something, they’re there to help.”

Todd says that he is not worried about re-offending, and is determined to succeed. “Re-entry success for me is very important. I lost a chunk of my life. I lost a son while I was incarcerated. I lost family, I lost friends.” It is the estrangement from his children that Todd says is a driving force for him to succeed. He says that since he’s been out, he has done new things that are helping him, such as losing weight, running and participating in races, has a girlfriend, a new job, and overall, he is proud of himself.

“I’m happy with the people who’ve helped me. I’m happy with me.”

To learn more about the Mat-Su Reentry Coalition, please visit www.akreentry.org/matsu-reentry-coalition