Program Aims To Help Former Inmates Regain Their Footing

A state agency is partnering with several counties to help former inmates transition back into their communities. Forsyth and Guilford are among those that will establish what's called reentry councils, thanks to a federal grant.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety received nearly $2 million to start new programs in several counties. The money will be used to help local governments, nonprofits, churches and other groups establish reentry councils. The program connects them to additional resources like housing assistance, employment, and transportation.

“All of those things contribute to a healthy community but we certainly don't want to see those folks reoffending and we know, and the research tells us, that folks who get out and get connected to these types of stabilizing factors – the housing, employment, reconnecting with their families – we don't see those folks back in the criminal justice system,” says Nicole Sullivan, director of Rehabilitative Programs and Services with DPS.

The federal grant is from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to enhance transitional services and is part of an effort to continue reforms begun under the state's Justice Reinvestment Act in 2011.

The reentry council program started in North Carolina in 2013. It currently serves around 20 counties. Sullivan says the state hopes to grow the program in the future to reach more communities.

Each year, about 23,000 people are released from prison in the state.

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