Recovery Month Reentry Simulation

471 New Market Boulevard,Boone NC 28607

30 September, 2022

Description

Successful Reentry is a challenging and unpredictable process. Since each person has different individual needs, resources, and histories, we find that each person's life path is different. “Successful Reentry” is not something that happens automatically upon release, but is something which has a greater chance of occurring if the person has the tools necessary to succeed and a community willing to help navigate complex challenges. Our aim is to represent a realistic landscape of what many individuals face when coming home. By experiencing these complex obstacles and barriers, we not only gain visibility into the individuals perspectives but also discover innovative ways to help individuals succeed. Over the course of about 1 and 1/2 hours participants experience the first month of post-release life. Each participant assumes the identity of someone being released and receives a packet of materials, including a “Life Card.” The “Life Card” explains the person's background, current living and job situation, and the specific weekly tasks that must be accomplished in order to avoid the risk of being rearrested for non-compliance with the requirements of his or her supervised release. The simulation begins with an explanation and instructions from the facilitator and participants then set out to try and navigate their new lives. Each week takes place in a 15 minute segment. After the simulation, the event will feature lunch, expo tables from local agencies who work with people returning from incarceration, and speaker Jeff Walker from Wilkes Recovery Revolution. Jeff Walker is an individual in long term recovery. For him, that means that he does not find it necessary to use drugs or alcohol to cope with life and his responsibilities today. Jeff is also a formerly incarcerated male who passed through various points in the sequential intercept model who uses his lived experience to help others. Jeff uses his lived experience to go into the prisons to offer support groups and locally works with Wilkes County Jail to offer pretrial release services and re-entry services through Wilkes Recovery Revolution, Inc. Jeff spends much of his time serving and participating in groups locally, statewide, and nationally including but not limited to; Peer Justice Initiative, Peer Voice NC, Peer Expert Commission, Nation Recovery Advocacy Project, Second Chance Alliance, Reform Alliance, Wilkes Opioid Response Project, High Country Reentry Collaborative, and Watauga Community Justice Coalition. Scholarships are available to community members who cost may be a barrier to attending, please reach out to [email protected] to learn more. Click here to sign up to volunteer for the event and receive free admission!