skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Program Offers Second Chance for NC Citizens

play audio
Play

Monday, February 29, 2016   

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – Reducing the number of people who reoffend after being released from prison and increasing public safety are goals of a pilot program in Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties – just east of Raleigh.

The NEW Reentry Council is funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and administered by the North Carolina Community Action Association.

According to training coordinator Krystina Dillard, the program works by providing support to people as they reintegrate back into society and find work, housing and a supportive community.

"Employment, transportation and housing are just the basic human needs that all of us need and especially someone who is going to be facing challenges with having stigmatized and having this criminal record," she states.

Dillard says currently 49 percent of people released from jail or prison return within a few years in North Carolina.

In its first 17 months, 91 percent of people enrolled in the program obtained jobs or earned educational or vocational credit.

The Department of Public Safety has identified four other areas as having a high rate of citizens reentering communities after a prison or jail sentence - Mecklenburg, Buncombe, Pitt, and the region of Hoke, Scotland and Robeson counties.

Dillard, says beyond giving people the opportunity to improve their life, the program benefits the entire community.

"That's an issue of public safety,” she states. “Research has shown that when there are opportunities for people to be proactive in their communities, for people to be engaged and involved and supported, that those people typically are less likely to reoffend and go back to jail or prison, which means there's less crime in their community."

She also points out that people who find employment also begin contributing to the economy through taxes and consumer spending – versus spending time in prison and costing taxpayers for that service.

The cost to house a prisoner in North Carolina state prison is $28,000 annually.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021