Discussion Guide 

Reaching Victims Who Have an Incarceration. 
History: A Webinar for Service Providers 

By Kaitlin Kall September 2019 

 
These discussion questions can be used to help facilitate a dialogue with your 
colleagues and about how the content of this webinar applies to your work. 
Webinar description: 
Crime victims who have a history of incarceration carry both the trauma of 
suffering violence and the burden of stigma that comes from having spent time 
behind bars. This stigma can create real barriers to healing. This webinar features 
the perspectives of victim service providers from two organizations - Crisis 
Intervention Service in rural Iowa and Newark Community Solutions in Newark, NJ 
- working with this community of survivors. Presenters discuss how they have 
worked intentionally to open their doors to formerly incarcerated survivors, to 
support their staff to work with this population, and to create trauma-informed 
programs that reach overlooked survivors in their communities. 
Presenters: 

• Allison Hastings, Project Director, Vera Institute of Justice 
• Mary Ingham, Executive Director, Crisis Intervention Service (Iowa) 
• Nicole Hamilton-Brahm, Violent Crime Program Supervisor, Crisis 
Intervention Service 
• Colleen Smith, Clinical Director, Newark Community Solutions (Newark, NJ) 
• Lorenzo Nash, Victim Services Peer Mentor, Newark Community Solutions 



Discussion Questions 

1. In her presentation, Mary of Crisis Intervention Service (CIS) discusses her 
organization’s shift towards using person-first language to avoid labeling. 
She says, “When we talk today, we try to avoid terms such as victim, 
survivor, batterer, rapist, and really focus on who we are serving. We are 
serving moms and dads, brothers and sisters, families, and community 
members. It’s not our job to put labels on the people we are serving. The 
best way to form relationships is removing labels.” Does your agency use 
person-first language? How can you promote using language that avoids 
stigmatizing labels? 


2. During the webinar, Nicole explains that despite the assumption that CIS 
“served everyone”, they realized they were not reaching people with 
incarceration histories. When they worked to reach those survivors, some 
staff were resistant and wondered, “If we are picking and choosing who we 
provide services to, and we pick someone who has done harm and has 
been incarcerated, who will we pick next?” How has your staff reacted in 
the past when you’ve expanded services to a new community of survivors? 
How did you or how would you anticipate overcoming any staff resistance 
or concerns? 


3. Lorenzo shares some of his methods for conducting outreach to potential 
clients, particularly men of color who often have high levels of trauma and 
distrust of service providers, on behalf of Newark Community Solutions. 
Activities include community canvassing, outreach to reentry programs and 
local colleges, and hosting events such as barbeques. What are some 
“nontraditional” ways that you could conduct outreach to under-served 



survivors, including men of color and those with incarceration histories? 


4. Colleen explains that for Newark Community Solutions, developing a 
trauma-informed culture includes “creating choices for clients and allowing 
individuals to define their problems and their successes instead of having 
us lead with what we think people need.” What is your agency’s approach 
to developing and supporting a trauma-informed culture? How does 
supporting clients’ autonomy play into this approach? 


 

 

 

 

 

 

This document was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice under award #2016-XV-GX-
K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. 
Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations 
expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the 
official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

 

Author: Kaitlin Kall, National Resource Center Technical Assistance Provider 
for Formerly Incarcerated Survivors; Senior Program Associate, Vera 
Institute of Justice.