An event this weekend in Roanoke is tailored to help ex-offenders make a successful transition to mainstream society.
“Probation, Parole and Sentencing Reform: Transitioning to Active Citizenship” is a forum organized by the Roanoke Branch of the NAACP, and organizers are hoping to educate and remind the public that ex-offenders deserve a second chance.
Hunter Mabry is a member of the NAACP’s Restorative Justice Committee.
“Most of these people have difficulty because in the cultural perception, a felon is always a felon. They have difficulty getting employment, housing a lot of public benefits, so we’re trying to educate the public in these matters, and help create greater opportunities for them.”
The event is open to the general public and the committee hopes many will attend, since their goal is to change that perception. But organizers are also inviting anyone with close ties to an ex-offender, in hopes of creating a support system around the person.
“Immediate targets of course are families that are afflicted, that have family, relatives, friends who are ex-offenders who are just returning to the communities. Others who are closely related to them would be immediate beneficiaries.”
Organizers say that many offenders are teens convicted as adults for minor non-violent felonies and serving mandatory sentences. When they are released five, ten or fifteen years later, they are lacking in real-world experiences like applying for a job, or conducting a job interview.
The forum will help facilitate such steps and help build positive and long-lasting relationships between ex-offenders and those willing to give them a second chance and a helping hand.
The forum is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon at 3, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Roanoke.
