Peers help former Delaware inmates ease back into normal life
1,174 views · Published 12 October 2017 · 2:23 · Indexed 22 September 2026
Channel: WHYY · 2017 · News & Politics
The transition from prison to life on the outside is difficult for many inmates. Workers at the Peers Mentoring Center in Wilmington are trying to ease that re-entry process. As the name Peers Mentoring Center suggests, most mentors at this Wilmington facility have had their own run-in's with the law. That includes John Dooling, who said he spent most of his life shooting heroin, and moving in and out of jail. Now, Dooling works with former drug dealers and others coming out of prison, trying to give them life skills that will improve their chances of staying out of trouble in the future. "Some of these cats went through some things like been shot, people killed in front of them, and like, that affects you," Dooling said. He's using what he's learned to have success on the outside to help others do the same. "It’s helped me get myself correct ... it kind of helped me to raise the bar on myself and challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone and kind of engage people that I normally wouldn’t have."
