For nearly all people who have been incarcerated, the experience of having their daily schedules and activities closely managed and monitored can diminish independence, self-sufficiency, and initiative. Moreover, some offenders have never had the opportunity to learn the skills needed to manage the everyday routines of life. Individuals preparing to transition to the community need to learn or re-learn those basic tasks. Thoughtful programming, however, can compensate for at least some gaps or datedness in knowledge of life skills. Such skills can include everything from cleaning and cooking to shopping and money management. Training in the these skills can be incorporated into other services, such as substance abuse treatment or employment training, or can be addressed in separate, independent programs.

In addition to such practical skill training, people in prison or jail may also need training or education in the area of acceptable social interaction. Research suggests that many offenders of all ages lack an adequate repertoire of socially acceptable responses, supporting the idea that lack of social skills can lead to antisocial behavior up to and including criminal activity. ^[1]   Further, "jailhouse culture," with all of its attendant coping mechanisms and isolationist attitudes, must be unlearned in order to equip individuals with behavioral and communication skills that are effective in normal community interactions. Accordingly, people in prison or jail may need instruction in interpersonal discussion skills, self-advocacy, constructive assertiveness, patience, impulse control, and anger management. Properly trained community and/or faith-based organization staff may be particularly well-positioned to teach these building blocks of basic survival to inmates.

Example: Kairos Horizon Communities in Prison (FL, OH, TX, OK, & AZ)

Trained volunteers from the faith-based community conduct programming on anger and stress management, family relations and fatherhood, financial management, addiction recovery, and education. Groups of six to eight prisoners answer questions from a workbook on a given topic prior to the session and then discuss their responses with their peers and a volunteer facilitator during the scheduled session. Kairos also sometimes involves people serving life sentences who are respected within the facility as peer educators or "encouragers" in these programs.