Directed by Bill Wisneski, Almost Home: Life After Incarceration explores the uphill battle formerly incarcerated individuals face as they reenter society with limited support and overwhelming odds. The film powerfully illustrates how giving hope and structure to people statistically expected to fail can break cycles of trauma and open doors to transformation.
Almost Home begins in a creative writing class at Palomar College, where formerly incarcerated students reflect on the duality of their past and present lives. One man notes that the same hand he used to hurt others is now used to write and heal. The documentary explores how more than 600,000 people are released from prison each year in the U.S., yet face enormous hurdles upon release—housing, employment, discrimination, and an overwhelming number of legal restrictions to follow to stay out of prison. Without adequate support, many feel that life in prison was easier than the reality of freedom.
At the center of the film is Palomar College’s Transitions Program in San Marcos, CA, which provides educational and emotional support to parolees trying to reintegrate into society. The program addresses trauma, builds community, and creates hope through a structured curriculum. One of the students, Luis Jiminez, shares his story of bringing a gun to campus in 2014 during a mental health crisis. Now back in school and working toward a degree, he credits his transformation to the college’s support system. The program reframes school not just as a place for learning, but as a way to rebuild one’s identity and a hopeful future.
“…how giving hope and structure to people statistically expected to fail can break cycles of trauma…”
The film also reveals just how systemic the barriers are—there are over 45,000 laws a formerly incarcerated person must navigate, and housing remains the most urgent challenge. Many students come from backgrounds marked by abuse and poverty, making reentry that much harder. Job applications with background checks are often a dead end. But Almost Home shows that when given the right tools, structure, and support, these individuals can begin to heal, find purpose, and lift up their families and communities in ways that benefit everyone.
Almost Home: Life After Incarceration is a Palomar TV production highlighting the work of the Palomar Transitions Program led by Dr. Nora Kenney. The documentary’s narrative is great as it introduces the participants of the program and documentary and just lets the camera roll. Along the way we are given important statistics and insights into the high recidivism rate.
What comes across in the Transitions program is a strong desire to make this program work and set a standard for other colleges. Dr. Kenney stresses that education is the key to the program’s success. As a student rises from an associate’s degree to potentially a master’s degree, the percentage of recidivism drops to almost 0%.
While showing the successes, Almost Home has to face the harsh realities that nothing is ever guaranteed as several members of the problem pass away—often through the effects of longtime drug use and suicide due to the pressures of trying to stay free.
Politicians and bureaucrats love to talk in circles about how to fix the system. Almost Home: Life After Incarceration doesn’t waste time with theories—it shows a program that actually works.
For more information, visit the official website of Almost Home: Life After Incarceration.
"…Politicians and bureaucrats love to talk in circles…"
