Formerly incarcerated peer mentor tells committee early reentry must include mental-health bridge

Saskia Washingtons Institutions Committee heard testimony from Chris Willers on Tuesday about the psychological hurdles people face when they leave prison and what state policy could do to ease reentry.

Willers, who identified himself as founder of LifeVing Inc. and a Georgia-certified forensic peer mentor, described the period immediately after release as a time of severe risk and disorientation. "The first 72 hours" are, he told the committee, "an extreme psychological whiplash" that often coincides with lack of supports and leads to crisis, overdose and reoffending.

Why it matters: Willers said insufficient pre-release planning and a lack of a mental-health "bridge" to community services leave newly released people without therapy, supports or timely medical care. He said those gaps are particularly acute for people returning after long sentences and solitary confinement, and he tied better mental-health services to lower violence and recidivism in pilot programs.

Willers described his own case: he said he was sentenced in 2003 to "144 years" (he noted parts of that sentence were suspended) and that he served about 16 years, 11 months. He told the panel he spent more than three years in solitary confinement and that long confinement produced chronic hypervigilance and decisional atrophy, making routine tasks and early interactions with probation officers fraught with anxiety. "When I walked out [the] prison gates, I did not see myself as a free man," he said.

His recommendations to the committee included expanding peer-mentor programs both inside prisons and in the community, offering financial-literacy training, and ensuring presumptive medical/mental-health coverage that begins before release and extends after release (he referenced an "115 medical waiver" as an example of pre/post-release coverage). He also urged wider use of alternative treatment courts for people with mental illness or substance-use disorders, citing evidence that such courts can show favorable cost-benefit ratios.

Committee members asked about specifics. Willers said probation offices can be an unreliable source of reentry assistance; he recounted visiting a probation officer within days of release and receiving little help in finding jobs or services, which contributed to a panic attack. He also told the committee that in recent months his organization's 72-hour helpline received multiple crisis calls from people in the immediate post-release window.

Willers repeatedly praised peer-led models and in-prison peer mentorship as a way to build trust and reduce violence. "When you bring people in with lived experience, that are qualified, not just anybody, but typically good things happen," he said, adding that some urban pilots have shown large reductions in violent incidents under combined mental-health and peer-support programs.

The session closed with the committee thanking Willers for his testimony and inviting further engagement as legislators draft policy changes. The committee then moved on to work on H559, which staff said would incorporate several policy questions about training, appointments and resources for the parole board.

Next steps: Willers offered to provide additional materials and help the committee connect with peer-led providers; committee staff signaled they would consider his recommendations while drafting reentry-related provisions.