NEW ORLEANS – Today, Mayor Landrieu welcomed the Reentry Alliance of Louisiana (REAL) Statewide Reentry Conference to New Orleans. The conference programming is divided into 5 content tracks: Formerly Incarcerated People, Community, Corrections, Faith-Based and Government and will feature speakers from throughout the State and nation.
The Reentry Alliance of Louisiana is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated people. One of the key goals of REAL is to bring reentry coalitions and reentry stakeholders from across the state and country together to network and share best-practice solutions.
“I welcome the Reentry Alliance of Louisiana (REAL) Statewide Reentry Conference to New Orleans for their 2nd annual meeting,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Reintroducing individuals who have been previously incarcerated into the community is an integral step in the criminal justice system. Through the NOLA FOR LIFE Reentry Program, we’re working with individuals to get them connected with job training, counseling, life skills and social services. This holistic approach ensures that recidivism can and will be reduced in New Orleans.”
“Reentry is not a siloed affair, it is a statewide dynamic affair happening in the daily lives of our citizenry. The most effective approach to reentry is when the voice of the service provider works together with the voice of returning citizens. That is why we have REAL,” said James Windom, Executive Director of the Capital Area Regional Reentry Coalition and Chair of REAL.
The local organizing committee for the conference was led by the Louisiana Public Health Institute and the City of New Orleans, through its NOLA FOR LIFE Reentry Initiative.
James Logan, Reentry Services Manager, City of New Orleans, said “Improving outcomes for people with criminal histories is a complex problem that will require innovative and all-inclusive solutions. This conference is the next step toward solutions.”
The NOLA FOR LIFE reentry initiative provides a pipeline to stable economic opportunities through post-release job training, life skills and social services, and using the City’s Office of Workforce Development and its community partners as a provider of case management, monitoring and reintegration.
“Effective re-entry programs are essential in reducing recidivism and creating healthy communities. Sustainable, positive reintegration involves many stakeholders providing the important tools to build healthy relationships between returning citizens and their families, the communities they will live in, and strong links to health-focused resources. LPHI is committed to supporting this critical work throughout Louisiana,” said Joseph Kimbrell, CEO, Louisiana Public Health Institute.
Bruce Reilly, Deputy Director of Voice of the Ex-Offender said, “if people are doing reentry programs and don’t have someone who is reentering, designing or advising the program, it is more than likely going to fail.”
The conference began at 8:00 a.m. today, Thursday, December 10 and will continue tomorrow, Friday, December 11 at LSU Health Science Center, Medical Education Building, 1901 Perdido St.
The registration fee is $45, unless you are formerly incarcerated, then it is free. The local event is hosted by LSU Health Science Center, the Louisiana Public Health Institute and the City of New Orleans.
Events include:
Thursday, December 10
Plenary Session: Reentry in Louisiana from the Perspective of Those Who Are Formerly Incarcerated
Lecture Hall A
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Workshop #1: A Message to the New Governor
Speakers: Luceia LeDoux, Baptist Community Ministries and Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith, Louisiana House of Representatives
Lecture Hall A
9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Juvenile Justice Panel
Speakers: Glenn Holt, Youth Study Center; Gina Womack, Exec. Dir, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children; Josh Perry, Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights
Breakout Room 14
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch Plenary: What Does The Future Hold? Innovations in Corrections in the State of Louisiana and Nationally
Lecture Hall A
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Faith Communities in Reentry
Speaker: Bishop Darren Ferguson, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Far Rockaway, NY/Starve the Beast Campaign
Breakout Room 14
3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, December 11
Plenary Session: What Does Success Look Like in Community Reentry?
Lecture Hall A
10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Lunch Plenary: The Fierce Urgency of Now – The Role of Faith Communities in Reentry and Community Involvement
Lecture Hall A
12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
