Supporting Survivors with a History of Incarceration: 

Interview with Carmen Pacheco-Jones 



For this interview, Kaitlin Kall of the Vera Institute of Justice and the National 
Resource Center for Reaching Victims spoke with Carmen Pacheco-Jones. Carmen 
is active in her community of Spokane, WA, where she advocates for criminal 
justice reform, racial equity, and has worked as a victim advocate. In this 
conversation, Carmen shares about her experiences as a formerly incarcerated 
survivor and the importance of centering the voices of those with lived experience. 



You have worked as a victim advocate in your community and are active in 
efforts to reform your local justice system. What brought you to this work? 

I came to this work out of a desire to support survivors. Personally, I am a survivor 
of violence and I understand the complexities of seeking justice. Often survivors 
are silenced, isolated, and made to feel as though they are complicit in their own 
victimization. ThereÕs nothing quite like the internalized shame that comes with 
that. I wanted to be present for and give voice to survivors as they navigate the 
justice system and then to help them develop tools for resiliency as they seek to 
live the best versions of their lives. My victim advocacy complements my efforts 
to reform the criminal justice system because there is such a significant overlap 
when we look at who is victimized and those whom we call ÒoffendersÓ. 



From your personal experience and your work as an advocate and activist, how 
do you think incarceration and victimization are related? 

Many of the individuals incarcerated today have been subjected to violence and 
abuse Ð whether it was during childhood or other complex trauma throughout 
their lives. As people with trauma transition to adulthood, they may become 
involved in the criminal justice system. For instance, some people are arrested 
and charged when they use force to protect themselves from an abuser. Others 
may develop mental health or addiction issues rooted in their complex trauma. 
These behavioral health issues are often criminalized, and these survivors may 
enter into the revolving door of the justice system. 




Were you offered victim services or advocacy while you were incarcerated or 
after your release? 

In my personal experience, I was never offered any support, services, or victim 
advocacy. In the case of my many incarcerations, I had often been recently 
victimized by my abuser. At one point, I was even forced to stay in jail until I 
agreed to testify against him. It was so significantly harmful to be made to feel 
like my life had no value then. 



What type of assistance and support would have been most helpful to you and 
others in similar situations? 

I think it would be valuable to have programs in jails that offer support to 
survivors. People should be asked, ÒHave ever you been a victim? Have you 
experienced trauma?Ó Not to ask just so a box can be checked off, but so 
survivors can be offered services. Even if someone is in jail just 24 hours, itÕs an 
opportunity for a first point of contact and support. This may look like instituting 
an assessment process or having a peer support specialist in the facility that lets 
people know they have value, validates their experiences, and shares that there 
are pathways to recovery and resilience. 



What do you think should be done to increase access to healing services for 
formerly incarcerated survivors? 

Lack of trust can be a real barrier. We can look to examples from community-
based organizations that are using peer models. Having peers who have had 
similar experiences helps to move away from the Òus and themÓ dynamic of 
service provider and client where the support offered doesnÕt always feel like itÕs 
coming from an authentic place. As one positive example, I have worked with our 
local victim service agency providing psychoeducational support groups for 
survivors. Through this work I would go to homeless shelters, addiction treatment 
centers, and other places where I connected with people who were just returning 
to the community after incarceration and invited them to participate in this group 
for survivors. In this group we listened to each otherÕs trauma narratives and was 
a cohesive, supportive community formed from our shared experiences. 






What do you think victim service providers and advocates can do to be more 
welcoming to survivors who have histories of incarceration? 

Victim service agencies can feel unwelcoming at times to formerly incarcerated 
people. IÕve witnessed people in advocacy roles who have biases again formerly 
incarcerated people, people with mental health issues or disabilities, et cetera. 
This can lead to shaming and blaming instead of taking a step back and looking at 
the individual and what they went through. In these moments, the advocate is 
focusing on the behavior that was a result of the trauma, instead of looking at the 
root causation of that behavior. Deeming someone worthy or unworthy of 
services creates more harm. I think a lot of education is needed to resolve this, 
particularly training for staff conducted by formerly incarcerated survivors. 



What is your vision for the future of the movements for increasing access to 
healing for victims and for criminal justice reform? 

WeÕve seen some progress in relation to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, but 
these movements need to be even broader Ð reaching more people and 
addressing other types of victimization. In these movements, directly-impacted 
people need to have their voices heard. Building trust is really important, as is 
letting directly-impacted individuals, in this case formerly incarcerated survivors, 
lead the way, because they are going to be able to identify solutions through their 
lived experience. Drawing upon the expertise of people with lived experience can 
help repair these systems that have done an injustice to people. 























To learn more about the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims and other 
available resources, please contact reachingvictims@vera.org.