How do we communicate with our clients?

A few weeks ago, I sat down with one of our Change Coaches, Jessica Summers, to discuss communication. Of our client caseload, approximately 60% are serving in North Carolina state facilities, and 40% are serving in federal facilities across the country. This week, Jessica shares the process of communicating with state clients. Next week, Jessica […]

Re-entry job readiness–it starts day one

We often share with our clients that successful re-entry begins the first day of their incarceration. Re-entry job readiness is just part of the plan. While access varies facility to facility, we encourage our clients to take advantage of any and every educational and training opportunity. That can look like finishing a GED program or […]

Is housing really accessible?

Safe and stable housing upon release is vital for successful re-entry, yet returning citizens face many obstacles. The average two bedroom apartment in Charlotte, NC runs $1600/month with 1 month’s rent for deposit. Rental agents often run background checks on new applicants, and the current process can leave returning citizens out of the rental market. […]

How do I get there?

Public transportation is a necessity for people re-entering the community from jail or prison, but what if you had never navigated it before? Challenges are often described as the 5 A’s: affordability, accessibility, applicability, availability, and awareness. Changed Choices uses volunteers to provide needed transportation the first few weeks after a client comes home. Clients […]

If you were starting over…

“It wasn’t how many people were there. It was the fact that I had to decide between 45 kinds of cereal.” Imagine for a second that you spent the past few years incarcerated. You day looked same everyday..when you woke up, when you brushed your teeth, when you ate meals, when you went outside. While […]

What Tutwiler taught us

On Saturday, February 25th, Changed Choices hosted a showing and discussion of Tutwiler. The film shares a behind the scenes look at the Julia Tutwiler Prison, the only women’s prison in Alabama. Approximately 40-50 pregnant women are serving their sentence at the facility each year. The film explores helping expectant and new mothers learn childbirth […]

How does incarceration impact your health?

February is American Heart Month, and we join in raising awareness about cardiovascular disease–the number 1 killer of women. Incarceration creates multiple risk factors for heart disease including: Studies have shown that the health risks only increase upon release. “People recently released from incarceration are more likely to die; in the first two weeks following […]

Welcome our new staff members!

Meet Kamie 2023 began with a new part-time Ruth Snyder Home Manager who oversees home operations. Meet Kamie Gouveia. She has already demonstrated that she is highly motivated to serve and support women returning to the Charlotte Community. Her lived experience, attention to detail and problem-solving skills make her an outstanding addition to the Changed […]