ReEntry Centers

The Reentry Leader Conference will be here before you know it. Register now at https://REENTRYLEADER.eventbrite.com before the ticket price increases on June 14th.

This conference will showcase a world where the $595B reentry industry is thriving, where second-chance employers and staffing agencies are working hand in hand with judges, lawmakers, DAs, corrections, law enforcement, NGOs, and media to create a brighter future for those who have been incarcerated.

This world is within reach and together, we Reentry Leaders will make it happen.

He saw gridiron glory playing for coach Bear Bryant at Alabama. But when drugs took over his life, Victor Smith knew he needed help... and needed to help himself. Counseling saved Victor. And became his calling. Victor now coaches people reentering society from prison. “Sure, I have empathy. But sometimes it takes tough love to find the daylight,” Victor says.

Victor works alongside a fast-growing group of program directors who run ReentryCenters.com’s homes throughout Alabama, each of which houses between 10 and 60. Program directors, Victor notes, have to know what it’s like on the inside, to show people what it takes to succeed on the outside.

Brent Parris served 19 years. Now he is a ReentryCenters graduate who recruits partners and second-chance employers. In prison, he says, empathy is dangerous. He likes the ReentryCenters program director mantra: Do not mistake our kindness for weakness. “Being reentry-ready means being work-ready,” he says. “We get reentrants good jobs at auto plants and elsewhere, they reside at our homes, and get an online bank and good coaching. We force people to be responsible. That’s why very few go back to jail and we cost taxpayers nothing. We’re kind but tough.”

Tabitha Dickey is a program director at one of the ReentryCenters homes for women in Bessemer, Alabama. “My job is to help you stay responsible and ready to work,” she says. “I know what these people are going through because I’ve been through it myself. Nobody will ever mistake my kindness for weakness.”

If you know someone who needs reentry, go to ReentryCenters.com and click the “Contact Us” or “Apply Now” buttons.