NC Outlines A Plan To Support Previously Incarcerated People

North Carolina has outlined a new plan to better support people after serving time in prison. Governor Roy Cooper has signed the Reentry Strategic 2030 Plan.

North Carolina’s Reentry 2030 plan will provide more support to returning citizens. The plan outlines four goals, improve economic mobility, improve mental and physical health, expand housing opportunities and remove barriers to successful reintegration for formerly incarcerated people.

When people finish serving their time at detention centers across the state, more than 40% of people return. Joshua Proby served 12 years in North Carolina state prison when he was released in 2018, he was on his own.

“For me, it wasn’t really too much help,” Proby said. “Some of the struggles that those who have coming home is housing, transportation, food, jobs, the disadvantages are large.”

His struggle lead him to start Peace 4 Poverty, a non-profit focused on helping returning citizens improve credit scores and establish businesses before they even leave the jail house. At the latest graduation in August, Peace 4 Poverty celebrated 56 new businesses.

“We have to provide opportunities that are not just entry level, but higher and you’re able to tackle that by handling reentry before they’re released,” Proby said.

Patrice Funderburg is the executive director at Center for Community Transitions. Women who complete their program have a 0% recidivism rate. Funderburg is pleased to see a state plan that mirrors local strategies.

“Having a reentry strategic plan that is coordinated across all cabinet agencies in the state is a pretty bold and transformative first step in the ways that we address the systemic and structural issues,” Funderburg said.

The Reentry plan also expands and invests in programs like the Formerly Incarcerated Transitions (FIT) program. Funderburg says the Center for Community Transitions was the first site the FIT program back in 2018.

“A lot of this is already going on in Mecklenburg County, but with the right and proper investments, together we can continue to advance all of the reentry initiatives to really spur even more economic growth in our community,” Funderburg said.

The 2030 plan also includes 26 objectives to measure progress by laying out a road map to help thousands of people restart their lives and contribute to society.

“Everybody has a dream and a hope,” Proby said. “So to be able to provide these different resources, these different bullet points, it allows us to be able to actually have a chance upon release.”

This plan also establishes local reentry councils that help provide a one stop shop for coordinated services and resources for people re-entering their communities after incarceration.