What’s a Release Card?

Rounding out our January series from Prison Policy Initiative, what’s a Release Card? When a person leaves a correctional facility, they often receive their funds, which include wages earned while incarcerated, support from family members, or money they possessed when arrested, on a pre-paid debit card. While pre-paid debit cards are common, it might be […]
Seeing the change in all of us

Alisha is one of our newest Ruth Snyder Home residents. The week she arrived, we went to Camino’s thrift store to get some clothes and then on to the food bank for pickup. At the food bank, the distribution workers were efficient and well organized, but the small parking lot was a hot mess. Getting […]
Voting Rights Restored…

I want to share this impact story with you. It illustrates how you are making a difference investing your time, talent, prayers and treasure. On most Tuesday evenings some of our staff, volunteers and clients meet at the Ruth Snyder Re-Entry home for dinner followed by Bible study. A few weeks ago, there were […]
The power of film in sharing the incarceration journey

Last week, Changed Choices partnered with Matthews United Methodist Church in hosting a showing of The Sentence. This documentary gives a behind the scenes view of the impact of mandatory minimum sentencing on women and families. Our audience engaged with powerful questions, and eager to hear more. Being Free, by Roadtrip Nation, follows three system-impacted […]
What does it take to reduce recidivism?

Recidivism is often used to measure the success of intervention programs. The RAND Corporation recently published, Providing Another Chance: Resetting Recidivism Risk in Criminal Background Checks, which proposes the novel reset principle can guide more accurate recidivism risk prediction for criminal background checks. Employers, landlords, and volunteer organizations routinely conduct criminal background checks to identify […]
Voting Rights

“Starting July 27, 2022, an individual serving a felony sentence who is not in jail or prison may register to vote and vote. An individual must also have resided in North Carolina for at least 30 days prior to the election, be a U.S. citizen, and be at least 18 years old by the next […]