REENTRY AND POST-RELEASE DEPARTMENT
MFF’s Reentry Navigation Program expands access to freedom, safety, and dignity by centering people with lived experience of incarceration and supporting them as they return to their communities. Through individualized support, relationship-building, and community connection, we train Freedom Navigators, many with their own reentry experience, to walk alongside Freedom Fellows as they rebuild their lives on their own terms, while advancing MFF’s broader vision of long-term systems change.
The Reentry Navigation Program provides structured, year-long reentry support that helps Freedom Fellows gain stability, strengthen community connections, and pursue self-defined goals after incarceration.
Freedom Fellowship Program
MFF’s Freedom Fellowship reflects our belief that freedom extends beyond release. Freedom also means having the resources, relationships, and opportunities to build a healthy, stable, and self-determined life.
Returning home after incarceration often means navigating significant barriers to housing, employment, health care, transportation, legal obligations, education, and community connection. These challenges are not simply individual obstacles. They are the result of systems that continue to limit opportunity long after a person comes home.
Successful reentry requires more than determination; it requires communities that invest in people’s long-term success.
What you Get:
| A Trained Freedom Navigator | Community Support | Connections to Vetted Resources | After You Graduate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peer support that walks beside you to resolve reentry barriers | Regular group meetings with other MFF Freedom Fellows | Employment pathways with partners who hire justice-impacted people | Alumni connections through exclusive events |
| Regular 1-on-1 meetings for guidance and accountability | Shared connection with people navigating similar journeys | Housing connections and ongoing stability support | Continued accesses to MFF post-release resources |
| Fellow-centered care that adjusts as you gain stability | Civic engagement opportunities including organizing and advocacy events | Legal aid and advocacy, including consultations and expungement clinics | Lifelong membership in the supportive MFF community |
| Benefits navigation for healthcare (Medicaid), food (SNAP), housing vouchers | |||
| Transportation support, including rides to court and trainings sessions | |||
What Makes Us Different?
You Lead. We Support
Freedom Fellows determine their goals. Freedom Navigators ask, “What do you need? How can I help?”
Community
You’re not alone. We build relationships with community partners in housing, employment, health, and legal resources. Every Freedom Fellow has a network of support that lasts beyond the program year.
Navigators with Lived Experience
Navigators bring their own experience of reentry, along with training in trauma-informed support.
Navigators walk alongside Fellows as mentors, advocates, and guides.
MFF’s Reentry Navigation Program provides structured, 12-month reentry support, with a peer cohort, including:
- One-on-one support from a Freedom Navigator
- Goal setting and personal planning
- Resource navigation and connections to community partners
- Peer cohort participation
- Life skills development
- Wellness support
- Leadership development and ongoing community engagement
The Reentry Navigation Program employs Freedom Navigators to help Freedom Fellows build long-term stability while recognizing that every person’s reentry journey is unique. The Freedom Fellowship is one part of MFF’s broader strategy to expand freedom, safety, dignity, and opportunity beyond incarceration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Freedom Fellowship?
The Freedom Fellowship is MFF’s 12-month reentry program. It partners with people returning from incarceration as they pursue their goals, build stability, and strengthen community connections.
Who is eligible?
You’re eligible if:
- You are within 6 months of release, or have been home for 1 year of less.
- You live in or are returning to Hennepin County or Ramsey County.
- You are 18 or older.
- You can commit to 12 months of weekly meetings with your Navigator, your cohort, or both.
What is a Freedom Navigator?
Freedom Navigators complete MFF’s 36-hour Navigator Training and are matched with Fellows for their full program year. Thee provide individualized support, resource navigation, goal planning, and ongoing encouragement, working alongside Fellows rather than directing decisions.