Central to the mission of Calvin University is restorative justice; and for years, it has helped inmates get a degree through the Calvin Prison Initiative. Calvin also developed valuable resources, like the “Returning Citizens Map,” an interactive web page that helps people chart a new path forward after they serve their time.
In 2018, a group of students, along with Dr. Kevin den Dulk, created the map to address an informational gap. Their goal was to connect returning citizens to things like housing, employment, legal counseling, food and clothing assistance. Dr. den Dulk, Associate Provost of the Global Campus, says when people get out of prison, they face a lot of distinctive challenges while adjusting back to normal life. He says when researching different services, his team looks for employers that have a track record of hiring or helping returning citizens. Dr. den Dulk adds that the map can show resources based on proximity, which can help direct someone who doesn’t have reliable transportation.
Five years later, it’s now up to student researchers like Ethan VanOrman and Cora Vanden Heuvel to maintain the map and its more than 3,200 pin points. Both in charge of quality assurance, they say a large portion of their job is to double check that organizations still exist, cross-reference addresses, update contact information and make sure the service is still user-friendly for returning citizens. “This has historically been a group of people who have been disenfranchised and discriminated against, especially with employment. It’s really hard for them to find employment, so in any way I can aide it, even just through googling all day, it’s well worth my time,” VanOrman said.
