A community forum is scheduled next week to discuss ideas for helping ex-convicts reenter the workforce.
The forum, called The Dollars and Sense of Second Chance Hiring, will be held from 8 a.m. to noon June 16 at the Historic Elks Building at 102 W. Washington St.
Right on Crime, a public policy firm based in Austin, Texas, is collaborating with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the city of Greenwood to offer the forum, said Michel’le McDowell, reentry director of MDOC’s Region 1.
McDowell, a Greenwood native, has a passion for helping formerly incarcerated people get integrated back into the community.
“This forum is just based on second-chance hiring and what we are doing,” she said. “But there’s so many other doors, and if you just walk into the room with other people, you can find a purpose and how you can help in this situation.”
She wants to bring attention to the barriers faced by former inmates and the importance of second-chance employment.
“These offenders, when they are released, they are coming back to your communities,” she said. “It’s not just MDOC’s part. It’s the community’s part. It’s the people, the neighbors, the citizens’ part to embrace these people when they come back.”
Employment, McDowell said, is a key in preventing ex-convicts from committing crimes again.
The forum is a chance to get legislators, community partners and other agencies together to talk about these issues and help dispel misinformation, she said. “Do we know the forum is not going to fix everything in one day? Yes, but we’re taking a step toward it.”
McDowell, along with Cynetra Freeman of the Mississippi Center for Re-Entry, appeared this week before the Greenwood City Council and the Leflore County Board of Supervisors. They expressed interest in using the former Leflore County Community Work Center on Baldwin Road, which is owned by the city and the county, as temporary housing for ex-convicts getting back on their feet.
More information on the forum can be found at the events page at rightoncrime.com. Those who want to attend the forum are asked to RSVP for a complimentary breakfast.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
The original version of this article reported an incorrect location for the forum.
