BURLINGTON, N.C. (Sept. 11, 2024) — Several organizations will come together this month to host a powerful reentry event featuring performances of stories from the Hidden Voices’ project ReVisioning Rural Reentry. The stories, which highlight critical perspectives from rural communities across the state, will be followed by a candid panel discussion between three individuals who returned to Alamance County after incarceration.
The panel will share their challenges and successes, inspiring the community to seek solutions for smoother reentry and a safer, more inclusive Alamance County. The discussion will be moderated by OurJourney Executive Director Brian Scott.
“There’s a discrepancy between what people think is available for folks when they get out and what is actually available to them,” explained a family member of one person who returned to community after incarceration. “Because, more often than not, what’s available quite literally amounts to nothing. In some cases, the resources available are just the items they had on their bodies previous to them being processed and incarcerated.”
“Over 95% of the men and women incarcerated in North Carolina will return to our communities at some point,” said Scott, who was released in 2021 after 20 years of incarceration. “Removing obstacles to their successful reintegration back into freedom makes our communities stronger, safer and more complete.”
OurJourney, Hidden Voices, Second Chance Alamance, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice are all co-hosting the event. Light refreshments will be provided.
This event is open to reporters and the public, registration recommended.
WHO/WHAT: Performances from Hidden Voices’ Revisioning Rural Reentry, followed by a candid discussion moderated by OurJourney Executive Director Brian Scott, who was released after 20 years of incarceration in 2021. Brian will lead a conversation with three individuals who returned to Alamance County after incarceration.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 24 from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
WHERE: Elon First Baptist Church – East Burlington, 715 North Church Street Burlington, NC 27217
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
OurJourney is a nonprofit organization created by a group of former North Carolina prisoners who met behind the razor wire, reconnected in the free world and determined together to do more than just celebrate their individual freedom. From reentry kits to essential services, from resource guides to peer-to-peer mentoring, from one side of North Carolina to the other, OurJourney is a new approach to freedom, where being released from prison isn’t just an occasion to anticipate, but also a journey to join.