When it comes to reentry services, the most successful programs put those closest to the problem at the center of the solution. As a national leader in reentry, Parole Project is in doing exactly that, according to a recent publication by a New Orleans–based professor of criminology and sociology.
Last month, Dr. Christian Bolden, the Robert Hunter Distinguished Professor in Criminology and Justice at Loyola University New Orleans, published Walk Right Up to the Sun, Hand in Hand: The Power of Peer Mentorship in Facilitating the Successful Reentry of Former Lifers. His research, based in large part on Parole Project’s program, explores the challenges and strategies involved in helping formerly incarcerated men and women — many who served life without parole or decades‑long sentences — successfully transition home. Parole Project gave Bolden unfettered access throughout the four‑year study, and he said he was struck by the organization’s comprehensive, client‑centered approach.
For people returning home after decades in prison, the world can feel overwhelming and often unwelcoming. The stigma of a life sentence often lingers long after release. At Parole Project, that burden is met with something rare in reentry work: people who truly understand. Two thirds of Parole Project’s staff are formerly incarcerated.
“Parole Project covers almost everything you could imagine,” Bolden said. “Everyone here considers what a client needs in completeness and wholeness and what can be done for them, everything from getting a job to being completely healthy all around. Parole Project really cares about what they can do to improve services.”
Key findings from the report include:
- Peer mentorship plays a vital role in fostering trust and understanding among participants.
- Many participants preferred mentors with lived experience over family members who may not fully grasp their challenges.
- Parole Project’s program was described as a “lifeline,” offering essential guidance for navigating life after incarceration.
- Participants reported feeling more prepared for life outside prison because of the mentorship and education they received.
“We were excited to read Dr. Bolden’s article,” said Parole Project Executive Director Andrew Hundley. “His research provides clear evidence that our peer-guided mentoring model is effective. The findings validate the importance of lived experience in supporting successful reentry.”
Bolden is also the author of Out of the Red: My Life of Gangs, Prison, and Redemption, a memoir tracing his childhood in an impoverished military family in San Antonio, his search for belonging that led him into a gang, and his incarceration at age 17 for aggravated assault with a weapon.
Despite growing up in poverty with an abusive father, Bolden was a curious and bright student who had been placed in his school’s gifted and talented program. Still, he felt the weight of being different. “I lived in the only poor neighborhood that went to a middle-class school.”
Bolden missed a lot of school growing up because he was constantly suspended for his behavior. He fought a lot as a teenager and his life as a gang member eventually led him to prison. After serving five years of his eight‑year sentence, he returned home to a world with few opportunities.
“There was zero support and no one would give me a job,” he said. “I couldn’t even get hired at a fast‑food restaurant. But I was stubborn, and I didn’t give up.”
Because of his strong record in prison and his persistent requests to continue his education, he received a youth offender grant that allowed him to attend college.
“I got my associate’s degree and fell in love with sociology,” he said.
With the support of mentors, Bolden went on to earn a master’s degree in sociology from Texas State University–San Marcos, and a PhD in sociology from the University of Central Florida. His research on gang members in Orlando and Los Angeles earned him an invitation to present at FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.
“They were blown away by my research,” he said, “and that led to a fellowship where I studied and conducted research with the FBI for a year.”
In 2012, Bolden joined the faculty at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he continues to teach and conduct research. He is married to Dr. Rae Taylor, a criminology and justice professor at Loyola and a nationally recognized expert witness and legal consultant in cases involving violence against women. The two met in graduate school while pursuing their PhDs. They are a blended family with a 21‑year‑old daughter, a Tulane University graduate with a degree in environmental biology, and a seven‑year‑old son.
He learned about Parole Project through his former high school teacher, Mary Wynn, who is related to Parole Project Board Member Mary Livers. Livers connected him with Hundley, launching research for the publication, Walk Right Up to the Sun, Hand in Hand. She said the partnership would be mutually beneficial.
“From a board perspective, I felt it was important to bring in academic partners to study our work. Anecdotally, we knew the Parole Project model was highly effective, but having a respected institution like Loyola University formally participate in research was a real advantage,” Livers said. “It turned out to be one of the most fortuitous connections I’ve made — seeing them come together and collaborate has been incredibly rewarding. I’m truly pleased with how it all worked out.”
