Introduction: Reentry at the Intersection of Crisis and Innovation
In the United States, more than 600,000 citizens return from incarceration each year, many of whom face critical barriers in housing, employment, and reintegration. These “justice-impacted” individuals confront a society that has not only marked them with stigma but has failed to dismantle the systemic barriers that led to their marginalization in the first place.
Amid this challenge, a transformative tool has emerged: GoVia Highlight A Hero—a community police safety app that positions returning citizens not only as protected individuals, but as community-first responders, legal observers, and system disruptors. By providing real-time legal support and embedding returning citizens into a civic ecosystem of accountability and empowerment, GoVia may not only reduce violence during police encounters—it may change the game for reentry.
The Problem: Reentry in Crisis
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) acknowledges that criminal records are a major barrier to securing housing—public or private. Employment options are equally grim: many employers perform background checks and dismiss applicants with felony histories.
Reentry isn’t just hard—it’s structurally designed to be. These barriers deepen poverty, foster recidivism, and fuel cycles of disenfranchisement.
GoVia: A Digital Lifeline for Reentry and Community Justice
GoVia Highlight A Hero is not just an app—it is a digital civil rights tool. At its core, GoVia allows any citizen to activate the app during a police encounter by saying “Hey GoVia.” The app then begins recording and can instantly connect to a live attorney or legal support network. What makes GoVia groundbreaking is its dual function:
- Real-Time Legal De-escalation: The app allows a reentry citizen or any civilian to speak with a trained attorney or legal aid live during the police stop—potentially preventing escalation or unlawful searches or seizures.
- Justice-Impacted Citizen Engagement: Through partnerships with programs like the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (ODRC) Citizen Circles, GoVia recruits and trains formerly incarcerated individuals to become certified “legal observers” who review police encounter videos, testify to misconduct or compliance, and provide community-based support in court or community circles.
🌳 Tree-of-Thought Exploration: How GoVia Can Support Returning Citizens
Step 1: Divergent Thinking – Three Innovative Models
Model 1: “Legal Aid as a Career Path” – Training Returning Citizens as Para-Legal Observers
Idea: Offer inside-the-jail certification programs to teach returning citizens how to observe, annotate, and report on GoVia police encounter footage. Connect this work with reentry job placement as community legal advocates.
How it Works: Formerly incarcerated individuals are trained in legal rights, conflict de-escalation, and the use of video evidence. After release, they work directly with attorneys, ODRC Citizen Circles, and advocacy groups.
Model 2: “Front Porch Peacekeepers” – Community Coalitions of Reentry Leaders as Street-Level Mediators
Idea: Form community-based “Front Porch” coalitions where reentry citizens mediate local safety issues, participate in police de-escalation campaigns, and train youth on police encounters using GoVia.
How it Works: Through coalition-building with faith leaders, nonprofits, and formerly incarcerated leaders, this model fosters hyperlocal accountability and intergenerational mentorship.
Model 3: “GoVia + Citizen Circles Justice Cloud” – Integrating App Usage into Court Diversion and Parole Programming
Idea: Embed GoVia usage into parole conditions, diversion programs, or court-ordered community service. Participation includes digital literacy training, live scenario simulations, and eventual certification as a trained community observer.
How it Works: GoVia collaborates with the ODRC and courts to create a rehabilitation and monitoring system that centers citizen voice and evidence review in restorative justice practices.
Step 2: Analysis of Models
Model 1: Legal Aid as Career Path
- Strengths: Provides dignified work, reduces recidivism, and adds credibility to legal testimonies. Builds a workforce of citizen advocates.
- Weaknesses: Requires strong legal oversight and training to avoid misuse.
- Resource Demand: High (curriculum development, partnerships with law schools/legal orgs).
- Roadblocks: Resistance from law enforcement, complexity in legal certification for non-lawyers.
- Success Probability: ★★★★☆ (High with right funding and legal partners)
- Case Law Tie-In:
- Graham v. Connor (490 U.S. 386, 1989) – objective reasonableness in use of force.
- Tennessee v. Garner (471 U.S. 1, 1985) – deadly force against fleeing suspects.
Model 2: Front Porch Peacekeepers
- Strengths: Builds community trust, fosters leadership among reentry citizens, lowers youth-police violence.
- Weaknesses: Lacks centralized coordination, high emotional labor for reentry leaders.
- Resource Demand: Medium (space, community buy-in, training)
- Roadblocks: Community distrust, local police resistance.
- Success Probability: ★★★☆☆ (Medium, needs strong grassroots support)
- Policy Tie-In: Supports concepts in the Obama-era 21st Century Policing Task Force framework.
Model 3: Justice Cloud Integration
- Strengths: Institutional support, possible funding via grants, real-time impact on parole outcomes.
- Weaknesses: Risks over-surveillance or punitive consequences for tech misuse.
- Resource Demand: High (tech support, court partnerships, API security)
- Roadblocks: Tech integration with state systems, privacy issues.
- Success Probability: ★★★★☆ (High if privacy concerns addressed)
- Legal Tie-In: Brady v. Maryland (373 U.S. 83, 1963) – Right to exculpatory evidence, supports citizen video review.
Step 3: Recommendation & Path Forward
🔝 Top Recommendation: Model 1 – Legal Aid as Career Path
Why? This model offers long-term systemic change, economic stability, and a pathway to legitimacy for returning citizens. It also decentralizes power—putting legal observation back into the hands of those most affected by the system. It transforms surveillance into community empowerment.
Ranked List:
- Model 1: Legal Aid Career Path – Best ROI, strong alignment with GoVia’s mission.
- Model 3: Justice Cloud – Strategic but requires large investment.
- Model 2: Front Porch Peacekeepers – Powerful grassroots potential, but lacks legal authority.
Final Recommendations
- Combine Models 1 and 3 – Create a pilot cohort inside select Ohio jails using Model 1 training, and test Model 3’s court integration with a small reentry group.
- Partner with Black legal organizations – e.g. NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The Advancement Project, National Bar Association for curriculum support.
- Fund via DOJ Second Chance Act Grants and local philanthropic support (e.g. George Gund Foundation in Ohio).
- App Protection and Ethical Use: Ensure GoVia is not used to over-surveil but rather to protect. Establish clear user consent protocols.
Suggested Reading for Deeper Understanding
- “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander – A foundational text on mass incarceration and reentry.
- “We Do This ‘Til We Free Us” by Mariame Kaba – Explores abolitionist strategies and community alternatives.
- “Chokehold: Policing Black Men” by Paul Butler – Discusses law, justice, and surveillance from a Black legal scholar’s perspective.
Final Word
Returning citizens deserve more than just a second chance—they deserve equity, dignity, and the tools to be changemakers. GoVia Highlight A Hero represents a model where justice-impacted people not only survive the system but actively participate in watching it, shaping it, and transforming it.
