CROP Welcomes 40 Fellows to ‘Ready 4 Life’ program offering an alternative to California’s $14 billion cycle of incarceration

Year-long program provides a comprehensive pathway to lasting community reintegration

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 13, 2025 – This week, forty individuals released from California prisons began a year-long journey designed to rewrite the typical reentry story. Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP) welcomed 15 Fellows in the Bay Area and 25 in Los Angeles to its Ready 4 Life program—a comprehensive alternative to a justice system that costs taxpayers $14 billion annually while failing more than half the people it releases.

The challenges these Fellows face are steep. Each year, 35,000 people leave California prisons, and 54% return within three years. Many exit with little more than a garbage bag of belongings, a bus ticket, and maybe a couple of hundred dollars. They immediately confront barriers that make success nearly impossible: landlords who won’t rent to them, employers who reject them because of their records, and few legal options to earn money or secure stable housing.

CROP’s approach interrupts this cycle. By providing comprehensive support—stable housing, career training for family-sustaining wages, and a community invested in their success—the program achieves what California’s prison system cannot: helping people build meaningful lives and careers after incarceration while making communities safer and saving taxpayer money.

“California can either keep spending $133,000 per year to incarcerate one person, knowing that most will return to prison, or we can invest in what actually works,” said Terah Lawyer, President of CROP and a formerly incarcerated individual who spent 15 years in prison. “When people have real support, they don’t just survive reentry—they thrive. That means safer neighborhoods, reunified families, and millions of taxpayer dollars redirected from prisons to productive community members.”

CROP’s track record proves the model works. The organization has nearly 90% employment and 100% housing rates amongst graduates. For every 150 people who complete the program, California taxpayers save $42 million that would otherwise be spent on reincarceration.

The year-long Ready 4 Life program provides holistic, residential reentry support through four interconnected pillars:

Pillar 1: Leadership 4 Life equips fellows with the personal skills for successful reentry. This approach addresses the challenges of past experiences and adapting to life outside of the justice system, while providing the tools necessary to navigate an increasingly digital society.

Pillar 2: Skilled 4 Life prepares fellows for high-demand careers that offer family-sustaining wages across multiple tracks designed to meet diverse interests and market demands:

• The Software Sales Track focuses on tech and sales careers, offering marketable skills that are transferable across industries—from understanding the sales cycle, prospecting, and lead qualification to pipeline management. Fellows learn data-driven sales techniques, CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, social selling through LinkedIn, and content creation for prospect engagement.
• The Skilled Trades Track prepares Fellows for careers in finishing trades through external partnerships, combining technical training with hands-on experience and industry-recognized certifications, including Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training and Construction & HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning).
• The Counseling Track operates in small cohorts of 10-15 Fellows over a 14-week period, providing specialized training in Medi-Cal Peer Support with hands-on experience preparing them for immediate entry into the workforce, equipping Fellows with the skills, certifications, and experience needed for a career in Addiction Counseling and MediCal Peer Support.

Pillar 3: Equipped 4 Life provides fellows with comprehensive job placement support that includes mentorship, direct placement, and referrals. This support doesn’t end once fellows are hired; CROP’s relationship with them and their employers continues with retention services that ensure long-term success in the workplace.

Pillar 4: Home 4 Life creates pathways to long-term housing by advocating for fair chance housing policies, helping fellows to build the credit history necessary to secure housing, and working directly with fair-chance landlords to ensure every fellow has a safe and stable home when they graduate.

The Bay Area program operates at CROP’s West Oakland Career Campus, offering on-site classes and residential housing for select participants. The intentionally designed campus provides rent-free housing, helps Fellows build rental history, and allows time to save for permanent housing. The program is also available to people in the community with stable housing who can attend classes at the campus.

For every $1 million invested in CROP, $3.5 million returns to California’s economy over five years through employment wages, spending, and taxes generated by graduates. This represents a stark contrast to the state’s current approach: spending $132,860 annually per incarcerated person while more than half return to prison within three years.

“These 40 Fellows represent what’s possible when we choose to invest in people instead of just punishing them,” Lawyer said. “They’re not just changing their own lives—they’re strengthening our communities and our economy.”