We must all help as much as possible

About two years after Yu Huan was freed, I spoke with the Shandong province native on the phone due to travel difficulties amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

During an interview lasting more than an hour, Yu calmly recalled the days after he committed the crime, and happily shared how he met his wife and now runs a snack shop.

He said his criminal record made it impossible for him to find work, so he had to try running his own small business.

Although he expressed understanding about the concerns and refusals from employers, I could feel that he felt helpless about reintegrating with the world, and he was also eager to be accepted by society in the first couple of months after his release.

Over the past few years, government agencies, social organizations, enterprises and federations have stepped up efforts to care for and assist recently released people under the requirements of the Ministry of Justice. However, I think they can do more and do better.

For example, last year, Henan Provincial No 3 Prison organized a job fair with the local department of human resources and social security that helped 40 inmates sign contracts with 16 companies.

To make inmates more competitive in the labor market, the prison has encouraged them to learn skills while receiving rehabilitative aid, offering them courses such as cooking, sewing, automobile repair and clothes processing.

In my view, similar recruitment activities need to be further increased and expanded across the country, because having a stable job plays a big role in preventing former inmates from reoffending.

Since April last year, every inmate of Shanghai Zhoupu Prison has been provided with a card when they are released.

The card carries information about legal services, including a 24-hour hotline number for the prison and the online account of the Shanghai Justice Bureau, according to Legal Daily.

"Many prisoners meet difficulties while reintegrating with society, especially in relation to employment, so we provide them with the card, aiming to help solve the problems and share legal knowledge with them," Zhou Xuan, an official from the prison, was quoted as saying.

In my view, psychological counseling should be strengthened for people who are about to leave prison because it will help alleviate their anxieties about returning to society.

It is even more important for us to eliminate discrimination against recently released inmates because our acceptance will boost their hopes of a new start in life.