GOLDSBORO — Getting a job can be tough, but when a criminal record is included it can become even harder. Anyone who has spent time in jail or prison learned some ways they can find employment at a Second Chance workshop in Goldsboro Wednesday. People learned ways they can go about starting up their own businesses. Convicted felons say it is difficult to get past a background check. "I really don't think I'm going to get a job right now. I think I'm gonna have to be a little bit more patient. But if it do, it'll be a blessing," said Goldsboro resident Derek Kornegay. Event-organizers say this is the first of a series of workshops, seminars and job fairs. Click here to view the video at Coastal News 14.
In Media
Goldsboro workshop aims to find jobs for convicted felons
Thursday, January 26, 2012
From whence we came
Friday, June 17, 2011
Check it out! From whence we came! Article in the News & Observer chronicals the beginnings of CSI
Click here to read all about it!
Bill will remove barriers to former felons finding lawful employment
"A bill making its way through the General Assembly would allow former convicts to earn a certificate that enables them to apply for professional licenses that convicted felons are now forbidden from getting.
House Bill 641 aims to help stop criminals from repeating their crimes by removing barriers that prevent them from finding lawful employment. Convicts have about a 50 percent chance of returning to prison within three years of their release, according to the state's sentencing commission, costing taxpayers about $27,000 an inmate a year." Raleigh News & Observer
Darryl Atkinson speaking at the Second Chance Day press conference
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Lynne Burke speaking at the Second Chance Day press conference
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
States Help Ex-Inmates Find Jobs
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Faced with yawning budget gaps and high unemployment, California, Michigan, New York and several other states are attacking both problems with a surprising strategy: helping ex-convicts find jobs to keep them from ending up back in prison.
“We had a $2 billion prison budget, and if you look at the costs saved by not having the system the size it was, we save a lot of money,” said Patricia Caruso, who was Michigan’s corrections commissioner from 2003 through 2010. “If we spend some of that $2 billion on something else — like re-entry programs — and that results in success, that’s a better approach.” Read more by clicking here.
Our Wonis Davis is featured in the N&O !
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
RALEIGH -- More than 20 years ago, a Warren County Superior Court judge sentenced Wonis Davis to 10 years in prison for second-degree murder. Since his release in 1999, Davis has bagged groceries, cooked, supervised a restaurant kitchen, worked as a church custodian and had two of his fingers sliced off while working in construction. But his past haunts him every time he fills out an application and has to check the box next to the question: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"
Lawmakers get ideas on reducing recidivism
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Lawmakers get ideas on reducing recidivism 10/6/10 WRAL.com—"Within three years of getting out of prison, ex-convicts are 36 to 40 percent more likely to commit another crime, Attorney General Roy Cooper told lawmakers Wednesday. Cooper addressed the Joint Select Committee on Ex-Offender Reintegration into Society, a group of House and Senate members that is developing a plan to help former inmates."
Click here for WRAL video coverage of Attorney General of North Carolina Roy Cooper addressing the Street Safe Task Force group meeting. Note Dennis is shown on the left at frame 00:35.
Article in The Triangle Tribune "CSI kicks off new youth initiative"
RALEIGH - A nonprofit that has worked successfully with adult ex-offenders is launching a new initiative for youth.Community Success Initiative announced the new initiative, Children of Re-entry, as a component of the YES Academy - Youth Empowerment School - and also as a part of CSI's overall re-entry work. The CORE program was born after Veronique Link, a trainer and consultant for CSI, asked Executive Director Dennis Gaddy to incorporate a specific group and expand the offerings of the YES Academy for youth leadership.
To read the The Triangle Tribune article click here
The examined life behind bars, Durham County
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Lauren Winner, assistant professor of Christian spirituality at the divinity school, said society assumes inmates are different from other people. But teaching at the prison reminded her of the essential equality of all human beings.
"We're all marked by sin," she said. "And some are incarcerated."
Janet Taylor
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
"Even though Janet Taylor's childhood in North Carolina was far from ideal, she never dreamed that her life would get so bad that a jail cell would feel like home to her." http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/bc54
Unlikely mentors give felons hope
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Michigan prisoner re-entry initiative (MPRI) has decreased the rate of parolees going back to prison from 55% to 38%. The legislation and a sluggish economy — which has forced states such as Kansas, Michigan and Tennessee to shutter prisons and increase the ranks of offenders on parole or probation — have injected a new urgency into efforts to end the costly careers of habitual offenders.To read this article and watch the video, follow this link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-21-reentry_N.htm
Ex-con mom beats odds, gets law degree
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Broken and broke after two years in prison, Burke had little reason to be optimistic about her future. Then her 7-year-old son held out something in his hand. "I was thinking you might need this," he said. For two years, he'd slept with Burke's driver's license under his pillow. Burke realized in that moment that her children and others in her life believed in her against all odds.
Their faith - and Burke's own drive - led her on a odyssey from a felony fraud conviction to representing clients for the Orange County Public Defender's Office
Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/01/509931/ex-con-mom-beatsodds-gets-law.html#ixzz0pe93bIA8
CSI Executive Director, Dennis Gaddy- Keynote Speaker -Goldsboro NC. -WayneCounty NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
Community Builders: Pitt County re-entry program
Monday, October 19, 2009
This is an effort that is being led by the Greenville Chief of Police, William Anderson ,as a Crime Prevention stradegy in the City of Greenville. Watch the video on wcnt.com.
North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue announces Reentry Task Force
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Gov. Bev Perdue announced the StreetSafe Task Force, an initiative designed to reduce the number of ex-offenders who commit crimes after their release from prison.
Ex-offender program celebrates fifth anniversary
The Triangle Tribute, Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Triangle Tribute covers CSI's Fifth Anniversary Event
Consultant says communities not ready for influx of ex-offenders (Elizabeth City NC Reentry Forum)
Released prisoners face a daunting future
The News & Observer, Saturday, December 20, 2008
"Former inmates have little help staying on track and avoiding offending again"
Ex-felons share their testimonies at forum
The Triangle Tribune, October 7, 2008
The Triangle Tribune has a writeup on CSI's recent Statewide Reentry Summit and Conversation
UNC Public Television's Black Issues Forum
Dennis Gaddy appeared to discuss criminal justice and CSI on UNCTV's Black Issues Forum
Community Success Initiative in the NC Justice Center's Community Newsletter
Download a PDF of the feature on Community Success Initiative in the NC Justice Center's Community Newsletter. To view the entire newsletter, go to the NC Justice Center's website.
Roundtable Discussions Pool Resources for Ex-Felons
The Triangle Tribute, Sunday, April 30, 2006
"Ex-felons who live in the Triangle have a place to go to find support and services after they are released from prison. Dennis Gaddy is the executive director of the Community Success Initiative the helps ex-offenders transition back into mainstream society..." Link to Article