ReEntry Stories

We meet Sarah Davis, who, with her husband Patrick Davis, started The Fringe Coffee House.

We meet Auria Morales, who found a helping hand at the Fringe Coffee House in Hamilton, when she got out of prison a year ago.

We meet Lorrie Carter, the first employee of The Fringe Coffee House in Hamilton, a place where formerly incarcerated citizens can find work and the help they need to re-enter society.

Mary Evans interviews Patrick Davis of the Fringe Coffeehouse in Hamilton – where he and his wife are offering a range of much-needed services to formerly incarcerated citizens.

Kamisha Thomas is a filmmaker, writer, director, co-founder of the Returning Artists Guild in Columbus and a returned citizen. Kamisha was a filmmaker before she went to prison, but finished her short film while she was inside. There were a lot of projects in prison, she says, that helped her continue her filmmaking.

Today on ReEntry Stories we meet Azizi Carter, the third in our series about women who took advantage of training opportunities in prison and made it a stepping stone to a new life.

In our latest series of ReEntry Stories, we hear about the lives of four formerly incarcerated women. They all took advantage of an educational program or some kind of skill building project while they were in prison, and for all of them, it was a good first step.Today we meet Amber Richards. Series producer Mary Evans has known her for many years because they were incarcerated at the same institution. While inside, Amber chose to focus her life on recovery from drug addiction. And when she got out, she got involved with an organization called Field of Hope in Gallia County.

More than 22,000 people are released from prison every year in Ohio, and as re-entering citizens, they face a lot of challenges. This week on WYSO we begin a new series of ReEntry Stories and hear about the lives of four formerly incarcerated women. They all took advantage of an educational program or some kind of skill building project while they were in prison, and for all of them, it was a good first step.

Returned citizen Afton McClain is an entrepreneur and owner of Afton’s Beauty Pod in Dayton. She’s been out of prison for 3 years and recently voted for the first time in her life for a candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

Savon Davis is a songwriter and music producer from Dayton. He's been out of prison under a year and has successfully monetized his content by teaching himself social media management.

Tara Casto has been out of prison for three years and is raising a multiracial family. As she told ReEntry Stories producer Mary Evans, the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement is having a big impact on her life.

Terry Green had several convictions, which led to his incarceration. Today, he is the CEO of Think Make Live Youth, a nonprofit that mentors inner city youth.

Returned citizen Aimee Wissman was an artist before she went to prison, and while she was inside, she never stopped making art. After her release, she co-founded the Returning Artists Guild in Columbus.

Latisha Ellis is a poet, author and recently became co-owner of PoiBois Entertainment, a performing arts group that uses pyrotechnic tools, poetry and music to spread the message of community building. We met Latisha last year during season one of ReEntry Stories, and today, she will share with us the story that made her the winner of the 2020 Dayton Story Slam.

More than twenty-two thousand people are released from prison every year in Ohio. And when they do re-enter society, what exactly are they up against?

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services.

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services. All the people in ReEntry stories were part of Sinclair Community College’s Advanced Job Training program or the Dayton Collaboratory’s X Factor Initiative . Latisha Ellis went to prison right after high school and participated in the Sinclair Program which helped her discover her passion for poetry. James Clay went to prison much later in life and honed a passion for public speaking by ministering to other incarcerated men. He continues to do this as a mentor at The Dayton Collaboratory’s X Factor Initiative. ReEntry Stories is produced by Mary Evans and is a collaboration between WYSO, Sinclair Community College and the Dayton Collaboratory. Funding support comes from Sinclair and the Eichelberger

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services.

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services. All the people in ReEntry stories were part of Sinclair Community College’s Advanced Job Training program or the Dayton Collaboratory’s X Factor Initiative . Mary Evans and January Newport met in prison and both took part in the Sinclair program. Now, on the outside, they are both advocates for returned citizens and strong believers in education. January is a certified Chemical and Alcohol Dependency Counselor. She’s gone to Washington DC to support the Second Chance Pell Grants program. Those grants are part of a bill originally authored by Ohio Senator Rob Portman and they provide federal funding for higher education for incarcerated and returning citizens. Mary Evans is the producer of ReEntry

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services. All the people in ReEntry stories were part of Sinclair Community College’s Advanced Job Training program or the Dayton Collaboratory’s X Factor Initiative . Today we meet Angel Hopson Woods, a student at Sinclair Community College and an intern with the Sinclair Communications Department. She wanted to interview her father Reuben Woods who had a repeating pattern of incarceration until 11 years ago. ReEntry Stories is produced by Mary Evans and is a collaboration between WYSO, Sinclair Community College and the Dayton Collaboratory. Funding support comes from Sinclair and the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices .

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services.

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1,500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often they have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services. All the people in people in ReEntry stories were part of Sinclair Community College’s Advanced Job Training program or the Dayton Collaboratory’s X Factor Initiative . Today we meet Keyawn Jackson and his wife Nikkita Jackson. They met while Keyawn was in prison and Nikkita was a student at Central State University. Keyawn went through the prison training program at Sinclair and now works as a service technician and a writer. His wife Nikkita is a social worker who sometimes works with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC), and together, they’ve started a business of their own. ReEntry Stories is produced by Mary Evans and is a collaboration between WYSO, Sinclair Community

ReEntry Stories features conversations between people who were once in prison. More than 1,500 people a year return to life outside prison in Montgomery County, and, like returned citizens all over Ohio, they often they have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services.

A new series begins today on WYSO called ReEntry Stories: conversations between people who were once in prison. When they return to the community, they often they have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services. Every year in Ohio, more than 22,000 people are released from prison, 1,500 in Montgomery County alone. ReEntry Stories is produced by Mary Evans, who was incarcerated at Dayton Correctional, where she took part in Sinclair Community College’s Advanced Job Training program , designed to prepare people for re-entry. Once released, she enrolled at Antioch College and also got involved with the X Factor Initiative, part of the Dayton Collaboratory , which helps re-entering citizens get jobs and life skills, and helps them find peer mentors. All the people in our series have taken part in either the Sinclair Prison Training project or the X Factor Initiative. Today we meet Shareka Gibson, who went through the Sinclair program and Marcia Weber, part of the X

A new series begins today on WYSO called ReEntry Stories: conversations between people who were once in prison. When they return to the community, they often they have trouble finding jobs, housing, education and mental health services.