In 1998, nearly half of Michiganders released from prison reoffended. Today, that number has fallen to a historic low, with about one in five people returning to incarceration.
Even so, people leaving jail or prison still face steep hurdles rebuilding their lives — from finding housing and work to navigating probation requirements and overcoming stigma.
Dustin Morrison spent much of the past two decades in and out of jail or prison, including time at the Grand Traverse County Jail in Traverse City.
Part of why Morrison kept returning to jail was addiction — he stole to feed the habit. He was released from his last stay in 2024 after being in possession of methamphetamine.
"Sometimes we go from addiction inside prison to addiction outside of prison," said Morrison, "so to transition from addiction inside to outside, we get worse."
The Michigan Department of Corrections has attributed the drop in recidivism to expanded programming, including housing assistance, recovery services and job placement support.
One organization doing that work is the nonprofit Before, During, and After Incarceration (BDAI), founded in 2016, which helps people leaving jail stabilize in the days and weeks after their release.
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Tom Bousamra, one of BDAI’s founders, worked with Morrison during his most recent reentry.
Bousamra said the organization operates on several fronts, providing direct support, offering life skills and addiction classes inside the county jail while advocating for changes on the outside. Some of that work has resulted in helping lead to the jail hiring a social worker and discharge planner.
Bousamra described reentry as a process shaped by many small barriers that can quickly compound.
Transportation is one of them.
"Many have lost their license," said Bousamra. "They have to depend on friends or BATA as a mode of transportation."
Housing is another barrier.
"Your only opportunity might be the basement of a friend's house," said Bousamra. "Housing is a very difficult thing in Traverse City, especially if you don't have a job, haven't established yourself, have no money in your pocket to put down a down payment. You're just struggling. You're bouncing from couch to couch."
Probation requirements can also pose challenges.
"Someone said to me that probation is like walking naked across a tightrope. You're vulnerable all the time," said Bousamra. "I see people on probation end up back in jail for two weeks because they had a technical probation violation. It's always challenging for folks."
One of the most challenging issues is one of community: returning to the same circles where substance use was common, often with few alternative housing options.
For Morrison, a new community emerged through First Baptist Church in downtown Traverse City, just two buildings from the county jail. He now works cleaning the building, but first started attending meetings in the church basement several years earlier.
"I was showing up for a meditation meeting on Thursday night," said Morrison, "and I just felt a presence here in the building."
"Someone said to me that probation is like walking naked across a tightrope. You're vulnerable all the time."TOM BOUSAMRA | leader of the nonprofit Before, During and After Incarceration
Sitting in the pews at First Baptist, Morrison said that presence felt like a hunger.
"Or thirst. Coming to the meeting, just to be in here, I felt home," he said. "I would come up here and I would just get on my knees. I'd have to sneak up here [and] grab a couple minutes. Some Jesus time."
After returning to jail for his most recent stay, Morrison kept in contact with church members through letters.
"I put everybody's name that I could remember on the top of the letter. I said, 'I'll be back soon.' I knew when I got back here I would never leave," Morrison said.
After his release, Morrison took on more responsibilities at the church. He’s given the message at church and reaches out to others experiencing homelessness or recently let out of jail.
His work has extended even to his family. His mother who also had trouble with addiction had moved back to town but was without a home. Dustin had been helping her with housing already, but one day she was waiting in line at the emergency shelter Safe Harbor.
He brought her back to the church that day — not to show her the building, but something else.
"We don't have an owner, but God himself. He owns the building. We manage it for him," said Morrison. "I look at this place when I'm cleaning it. I get emotional sometimes just vacuuming floors. Like, they allow me to do this. So I do the best job I can."
Earlier this week marked a milestone for Morrison as he reached one year of sobriety outside of incarceration, something he said he had never achieved before despite decades in recovery.
