WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — When someone is released from prison, it can be difficult to get a second chance to make things right.
There are now more second chance opportunities, thanks to a program called Project Re-entry.
It's run by the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina.
April is Second Chance Month in our state, a time to remember the obstacles faced by incarcerated people returning to society.
Project Re-entry provides a 16-week class prior to someone's release. It includes workforce training and communications skills needed to succeed in the real world.
Once they graduate, they can access resources to find a job.
"These are individuals that made a bad choice. They made a bad decision. We don’t know what the circumstances were of that decision at that time but we want to learn who they are now and the type of person they are because they are not the same person as you were five, 10, 15 years ago," said Project Re-entry Director Rebecca Sauter.
Housing, transportation, and employment are challenges former offenders face when trying to get back into society.
Sauter said the anxiety of being free and making day-to-day choices are just as difficult too.
She spoke about a man she worked with who tried buying bread after being released but couldn't because there were too many choices.
"This is what happens when you go into prison because a lot of that confidence and ability to make choices and decisions fade away because they are not really present. Several months later he came into my office and he put down on my desk two placemats and a salt and pepper shaker and he’s like, 'Look what I did all by myself! I picked it out myself!' And I told him I was so proud of him," said Sauter.
To date, Goodwill Industries and Piedmont Triad Regional have worked with nearly 13,000 people trying to find jobs after being incarcerated.