Table 3 Additional thematic quotes from probationers in Rhode Island, 2016 (n = 22)

 Why a priority

White male, 32 years old

“Substance use and recovery. Because I got to have my Suboxone to be able to go to work to get the food to have the house.”

 Substance use is not effective for coping

Black male, 26 years old

“Well, I tried it [alcohol] before but it doesn’t work. It makes everything worse. You need money to do these things, you know? I’m not really in that predicament to be doing things like that. I did it before…but it got me on probation.”

White male, 58 years old

“Living in pain, not taking pain pills, man, is a challenge. Because I don’t want to get addiction. Because once you take the pills, the pain goes away, you know? Then you got to take more pills for the pain to go away and then you keep taking pills. Next thing you know, you’re going to have a habit, man. And then what happens when I get kicked off my doctor for taking too many pills or something? And then I’m forced out there in the streets, man, where then kicking a habit.”

 Why a priority

Black male, 26 years old

“Like anything else, they’ll help you. Like if you’re homeless or something, they’ll help you. Like the food stamp people or whatever, they’ll help you. But you got to help yourself [with finding a job]…I just keep trying.”

 Barriers to employment

White male, 32 years old

“You try to be honest, like you’re looking for a job. You’re trying to be honest with people and tell them. You don’t want them to find out some other way and act like you were trying to hide it [criminal record] or lie about it because you could end up getting a job and they find out and you get fired the next day. And a lot of people, they tell you, ‘Oh yeah.’ But like a few people, when I went and filled out the application, I said, ‘I mean, I do have a record. It’s been a long time. It’s nothing right now, not much of a big deal.’ And I don’t know, a lot of places, they just (pause). You could tell like once you said [you have a criminal record], ‘OK. Thanks for telling me that,’ but then you never hear back.”

Latina female, 64 years old

“Jobs, it’s hard to get out there. Especially us prisoners coming from jail out here. Very hard. Like I said the first thing they do is your background and when they do that and they see you are, they don’t want to call you. So you know, it’s really hard. The main topic here is jobs. Education, cause without the education you’re not going to get nowhere. But still even though if you got the education and you come from jail, it’s still hard.”

Black male, 29 years old

“I mean, at the end of the day, you know, your business owner has to protect their business and protect their company…I mean not every apple is bad, but not every apple is good either. So I mean, I can’t really say, ‘Oh, they need to change their policy and allow people with records to work there.’ I just feel like somebody shouldn’t be judged off their criminal record. If you’re on probation, you know, and you get a job, that should be something your probation officer would have to approve of you working there. Not for a job to say, ‘He’s got a criminal record. He can’t do this job. I don’t want to hire him.’…I guess it’s public record. I understand that. But companies shouldn’t be able to judge you off of that. To me, that’s a form of discrimination. That’s how I feel. It’s a form of discrimination. ‘Oh, he’s got a record, so he can’t do this job and he can’t be honest.’ Well, how do you ever want me to change? How do you want people who…you know, I’ve never sold drugs a day in my life and I’m proud of that, but how do you want these guys who are out here selling drugs to not sell drugs, when they get arrested and then they can’t get a job? They’re going to revert back to what they know.”

 Types of jobs available

Black male, 29 years old

“Mostly like labor. That’s what I do. I paint, landscape, warehouse jobs, stuff like that. Move-in jobs.”

White male, 22 years old

“I’m doing landscaping out of a company in [masked]. It’s hard work, but it’s work and it pays. So, right now, I’m on. There’s like two crews, like one crew cuts and does all that. My crew, we mulch. I’m saying we take out weeds and we just trim stuff down and make sure it looks nice.”

 Alternatives to employment

Black male, 40 years old

“Sometimes I go look for under the table jobs….Like fix houses or whatever’s needed. Just for the extra money for the pockets. That helps for my house and everything.”

Latina female, 64 years old

“Sell drugs. In order for me, because I was by myself with my kids, I didn’t have no other choice but sell drugs and that helped me, you know, because you have three kids, four kids, and whatever they give you in food stamps and it runs out. It’s hard to go out there, you don’t get a job, you don’t have a job, you don’t have a man.”

White female, 33 years old

“Last year I did snow removal and that was great, but that was not on the book so it’s hard for me to fill that out on a resume.”

 Second chances lead to employment

White male, 22 years old

“I got blessed. As soon as I got out, my friend said, ‘Listen, you know, I got this job. If you want, talk to my bosses.’ And then when I called them, he said, ‘When can you come in’? So I met with him very early, like 6:30 am. And he’s like, ‘Well listen. Fill this application out and I’ll talk to you.’ I filled it out. He said, ‘When can you start?’ I said, ‘I’ll start right now.’ He said, ‘Alright. Go put your boots on and we’re gonna go out.’ And that’s how it happened. A week after I got out of jail.”

White female, 33 years old

“Rhode Island is kind of like you gotta know somebody to get work, especially with some kind of past. You know, to get a chance you basically have to know somebody.”

 Housing milieu

White male, 22 years old

“Well, I’m staying with a friend right now. She’s actually really cool about it. I really had nowhere to go. She said, ‘Well listen. You can stay here until you get on your feet. But you got to look for an apartment. Just help me with the rent.’ So I’m doing that right now.”

Latina female, 25 years old

“But going near [masked], south side. All that. Cause that’s where cheap housing is when you’re paying your own rent. It’s not a good area. People die every other day. The things I’ve seen growing up. It’s not fair.”

 Barriers to housing

White male, 38 years old

“Well actually, our plan is having an apartment together. She [his sister] said move out of her house and so we can get a place together. Because of my probation, what I did was a felony, and most housing don’t accept that.”

Latina female, 25 years old

“It’s hard. I’m struggling. I’m supposed to moving [from sober house] by the first and I still haven’t found anything yet. And I’m pregnant and these people have little sympathy. They look up that background. ‘Nope!’ And then it’s like, what do I do? I have somebody else rent for me? Cause that’s what’s going on around here. People are renting other people’s things out because people don’t want to rent to certain people.”

 High cost of food

Latino male, 29 years old

“It’s too much money in the food. My kid eat so much, you know? And drink milk, the milk expensive money. It’s crazy.”

 Food insecurity

Latino male, 27 years old

Sometimes it’s like that [he experiences periods of hunger]…Like sometimes, today I’m going to take this gift card [stipend] and go buy some stuff cause my food stamps are running out. So I need this gift card to go get some—a couple things for my house. “He also mentioned that each month, towards the last two weeks, he really tries to make food stretch.”