Walking the walk of reentry—Reentry simulation challenges students to confront the reality of life after incarceration

Walking the walk of reentry

Reentry simulation challenges students to confront the reality of life after incarceration

February 12, 2026

More than 10,000 people are released from federal and state prisons each week in the United States—a number that doesn’t even account for the thousands more released from local jails.

What these returning citizens encounter upon reentry is a maze of bureaucracy that is nearly impossible to navigate. The dizzying requirements help explain why 68 percent will return to prison within three years. For many, recidivism is a matter not of repeat offenses but of a simple lack of resources to navigate life on the outside.

students participate in reentry simulation — *Students participate in reentry simulation in Remick Commons*

On Friday afternoon of Walk the Walk Week, the Institute for Social Concerns hosted a reentry simulation in Remick Commons. This immersive experience—centered on a deep collaboration with community partners—was designed to mirror the first four weeks of life after returning from incarceration. Students from across the University gathered for the two-and-a-half-hour event, where the game-like elements of a simulation quickly gave way to high stakes and mounting frustration.

As architecture major Will Magruder ’29 described, the simulation’s design made the system’s inefficiency “painfully obvious,” as many participants found themselves back in jail before the fourth week was over.

Deepening understanding of the reentry experience

The simulation was anchored by a panel of local community partners who have walked the walk of reentry themselves or dedicated their careers to assisting those who have. Their presence transformed the afternoon from a classroom exercise into a profound confrontation with reality, providing an authenticity that forced participants to look beyond the mechanics of the “game.”

“Much of the institute’s programming involves getting students into communities for immersive research and experience-based learning,” says Hayden Kirwan ’25, a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the institute and one of the reentry simulation organizers. “The idea of this simulation was instead to bring community members to campus to provide students with a direct, proximate encounter with their expertise.”

*Postbaccalaureate Fellows Hayden Kirwan (center) and Wonu Fasasi (right) assist students with simulation*

For the simulation, each “week” lasted 15 minutes. Students received identity sheets and packets containing varying levels of resources. Some began with IDs and cash, while others held nothing but a gate-release form. To survive, they had to navigate stations representing the BMV, the pawn shop, the grocery store, and the parole office.

Student volunteer and political science major Jack Carter ’28 reflected on the jarring transition from incarceration to everyday activities. “I could never have imagined how difficult everyday tasks can be,” he stated. “Not only do they face challenges in obtaining work, but activities like going to the grocery store or buying a candy bar at a gas station take on a new level of difficulty after being removed from society for so long.”

For economics and American studies major Kate Rafford ’26, the paradox of the system became clear when she secured employment: “I was able to find a full-time job, but that made it difficult to go to my other necessary appointments like AA meetings and treatment sessions.”

Confronting social stigmas

The simulation was designed to be interactive, but as Michael Stayer, a fellow with the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, explained in his welcoming remarks, “the true reality of reentry is anything but fun.” Citing data from Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Prison Policy Initiative, he shared that the average person on probation or parole must comply with 12 different requirements simultaneously.

*Jose Otero, director of outreach at Dismas House of Indiana, shares his reentry story*

Wonu Fasasi ’25, a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the institute and one of the simulation organizers, describes this stigmatization in terms of what historian and sociologist Orlando Patterson calls “social death.” While Patterson applies this concept to slavery, Fasasi is researching how it applies to incarceration and reentry as well. “Incarceration exacerbates a social death that often persists into reentry,” Fasasi notes. “The returning citizen is alive but stripped of full social recognition, and their status as a moral, civic, and relational subject is compromised and dismissed.”

Throughout the afternoon, panelists spoke of how this stigmatization left a more lasting impact on them than the overwhelming logistical barriers. “When you are incarcerated, the system tries to strip away your dignity,” said panelist Jose Otero, director of outreach at Dismas House of Indiana. He explained that the label follows you home: “Landlords see the ‘felon’ label and immediately stigmatize you.”

Panelist Lisa Hochstetler, now a certified care support professional, described the trauma that lingers years after release. “In this world, paranoia is real because you are never truly accepted back into society.”

From awareness to accompaniment

By the end of the afternoon, the initial frustration felt by students had evolved into a profound appreciation for the sheer resilience required to survive the reentry process. The simulation served as a window into a hidden and often dehumanizing journey—one that many in the Notre Dame community may have never otherwise seen.

As participants moved to the final debrief, the conversation shifted from systemic failures to the opportunities for accompaniment. Having witnessed even a small glimpse of the indignities and roadblocks faced by their neighbors, students left with a deepened awareness of the human heart behind the statistics.

The event pointed toward a common hope: a community that moves beyond managing sentences to restoring lives. By opening this window into the reentry process, the simulation provided the emotional ground for students to move forward not just with more facts but with a greater capacity to walk alongside those returning home, affirming the inherent dignity in every neighbor’s journey.