He Once Lived In Prison. Now He’s Turning One Into A Place For Second Chances.

By Rachel Crumpler

In January 2018, Kerwin Pittman was nearing his merchandise aft much than 11 years incarcerated, unsure really he would rebuild his life. Where would he work? How would he navigate a nine that had changed truthful overmuch while he was down bars?

Eight years later, he’s purchased a prison.

When Pittman saw nan real property listing for nan 19-acre, 80,000-square-foot erstwhile Wayne Correctional Center successful Goldsboro, he saw possibility: nan opportunity to erase nan relics of incarceration and build thing new. 

Over nan adjacent 2 years, he has expansive plans — to toggle shape nan shuttered installation into a reentry and workforce improvement campus, designed to support hundreds of formerly incarcerated men arsenic they navigate nan aforesaid challenges he erstwhile faced rebuilding his life successful nan community.

Pittman purchased nan 19-acre, 80,000-square-foot erstwhile Wayne Correctional Center successful Goldsboro, becoming what he believes is nan first formerly incarcerated personification to acquisition a erstwhile prison. Credit: Courtesy of Kerwin Pittman

The task is Pittman’s latest endeavor arsenic laminitis and executive head of Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services Inc., a nonprofit focused connected breaking cycles of incarceration. He has besides launched mobile reentry centers and a recidivism simplification hotline to thief capable gaps he sees successful support for group who are returning to communities they erstwhile near behind.

“Transitioning aft a important magnitude of clip incarcerated is not 1 of nan things that you easy overcome,” Pittman said. “I had to get utilized to and study really to thrust again. I had to get utilized to utilizing a debit paper again. I conscionable had to get utilized to nan basal functions of society.” 

More than 18,000 group are released from North Carolina’s 55 prisons each year, and thousands much exit region jails crossed nan state.

The Wayne Correctional Center housed hundreds of group earlier it was shuttered successful October 2013. For much than a decade, nan situation has sat vacant. When nan authorities put nan spot up for sale, Pittman made an connection of $275,000 — costs he raised from foundations and fellowships.

Wayne Correctional Center closed successful October 2013. Credit: Rachel Crumpler / NC Health News

The woody closed successful November, aft support from nan North Carolina Council of State, making him what he believes is nan first formerly incarcerated personification to bargain a erstwhile prison.

After renovations, Pittman plans for nan erstwhile situation to consciousness much for illustration a assemblage campus. Credit: Rachel Crumpler / NC Health News

Barbed-wire fences still enclose nan spot successful Goldsboro — but not for overmuch longer. After extended renovations, Pittman’s Recidivism Reduction Campus will unfastened to service formerly incarcerated group from astir nan state, offering lodging on pinch workforce, acquisition and wellness attraction support. Pittman said he expects nan field to service 200 to 250 group astatine a time.

“We want to usage this abstraction for those who really want to person nan opportunity to alteration and conscionable don’t person nan resources to make that alteration happen,” Pittman said.

“We cognize a batch of group get retired and they don’t person support,” he said. “So this is support. This is simply a tribe. This is community.”

From confinement to opportunity 

Pittman has agelong imagined what it would mean to move a situation from a spot of confinement into 1 of state and opportunity. Several years ago, he was adjacent to making that imagination existent pinch a erstwhile situation successful Durham. Even arsenic that woody fell apart, nan thought did not. 

Now, he says, nan timing and spot are right. 

“North Carolina is making history pinch this initiative,” Pittman said.

He has built a estimation arsenic a authorities leader successful reentry. Pittman is nan only personification pinch existent acquisition of reentering nan organization aft incarceration serving connected nan state’s Joint Reentry Council, which is working to little barriers and bolster support for group returning home.

That lived acquisition informs his imagination for nan reentry campus. He knows galore group leave situation without a spot to stay, a occupation aliases entree to needed wellness attraction — obstacles that tin quickly derail their transition. Without a unchangeable spot to land, galore group return to what sewage them locked up successful nan first spot — fueling cycles of recidivism and reincarceration. 

An April 2024 report released by nan North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission recovered that from a sample of astir 13,000 group released from North Carolina authorities prisons successful fiscal twelvemonth 2021, 44 percent were re-arrested wrong 2 years, and 33 percent were sent backmost to situation — astatine a precocious costs to taxpayers. Housing 1 personification successful a North Carolina situation costs more than $54,000 per year. 

Pittman wants his field to interrupt that cycle. His imagination is to supply residents pinch lodging for up to six months, on pinch different support intended to soft nan transition. 

Kerwin Pittman took NC Health News connected a circuit of nan erstwhile situation connected Jan. 9, describing his renewal plans and imagination for his reentry campus. Credit: Rachel Crumpler / NC Health News

Earlier this month, Pittman took NC Health News connected a circuit of nan erstwhile prison. He pointed retired wherever group successful custody erstwhile slept, ate and showered. He paused astatine erstwhile solitary confinement cells, recalling nan astir 1,000 days he spent successful isolation complete nan people of his incarceration — including a 365-day stretch. Some parts of nan shuttered installation springiness him flashbacks to his clip successful prison, he said, but aft renovations, he envisions nan aforesaid spaces emotion much for illustration a assemblage campus. 

The changes will beryllium intentional. Open dormitories will beryllium replaced pinch backstage rooms for residents. Shared bathrooms that still person windows erstwhile utilized for correctional serviceman supervision will beryllium covered. Prison bars and signs reference “no inmates allowed past this point” will beryllium removed. 

Part of nan erstwhile prison, which Pittman plans to renovate into a reentry campus. He plans to see a depository connected nan spot preserving original signage and different items from its years arsenic a correctional facility. Credit: Rachel Crumpler / NC Health News

The field will judge applicants from each nan state’s prisons and jails, Pittman said, pinch a referral strategy successful development. The scheme is for residents to beryllium capable to enactment astatine nary cost, while lawsuit managers and societal workers activity to thief them unafraid different lodging options earlier they time off utilizing nan savings they build during their clip successful nan program.  

“The extremity is to stabilize them earlier they really person to spell retired into society, and we’re beautiful judge we tin do it successful six months,” Pittman said. “We’re gonna make judge they’ve sewage wellness care, a societal information card, commencement certificate, ID, a driver’s license. There’s a ton of different things in-house. We look astatine this arsenic nan Walmart of reentry — a one-stop shop.”

Pittman plans to create workforce and acquisition tracks wherever group tin activity toward occupation placements aliases certifications successful high-demand trades for illustration HVAC, plumbing, welding, electrical wiring, building and others. He said nan programme will besides stress soft skills, specified arsenic interviewing, budgeting and clip guidance — abilities that tin erode during periods of incarceration.

To make nan exemplary work, Pittman plans to shape partnerships pinch nonprofits, employers and organization volunteers.

“This field is decidedly going to return an all-hands-on-deck attack pinch collaboration,” Pittman said.

Formerly incarcerated group are besides helping style nan creation and offerings, Pittman said.

“We’ve been intentional astir having straight impacted group put their ideas into this abstraction because we cognize those who are closest to nan symptom are oftentimes closest to nan solutions,” Pittman said. “That’s been nan condiment to my success.”

Since publically announcing nan news of nan acquisition connected Jan. 5, Pittman said he’s received outpouring support from section stakeholders, arsenic good arsenic group crossed nan authorities — and moreover nationally.

One specified protagonist is Goldsboro City Council Member Brandi Matthews, who besides useful arsenic coordinator of Wayne County’s Reentry Council. In her roles, she sees nan task done 2 lenses, providing dual benefits.

“A centralized reentry field is going to create much continuity and little chaos,” Matthews said. “It’s going to trim that spread successful care, which is yet going to nutrient much successful outcomes. 

“When we trim recidivism, we make everything safer and we make our communities stronger.”

Matthews besides said she believes nan field will bring economical benefits to nan metropolis and region — a boon amid ongoing economical struggles successful eastbound North Carolina.

“It’s going to create jobs, partnerships pinch our section employers, training pipelines and work contracts,” she said. “It virtually injects resources backmost into our section economy.” 

N.C. Department of Adult Correction leaders George Pettigrew, elder lawman caput overseeing nan Division of Rehabilitation and Reentry, and Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes visited nan erstwhile situation Kerwin Pittman purchased. Credit: Courtesy of Kerwin Pittman

N.C. Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes besides celebrated Pittman’s acquisition astatine a Jan. 7 Joint Reentry Council meeting. Initially, Dismukes said she was amazed to study that Pittman was nan purchaser but thought it was great, particularly aft proceeding his plans for nan property. She besides noted that a unsocial facet of nan waste is that authorities statute allows nan proceeds to beryllium funnelled backmost into nan agency.

“The proceeds from nan waste of this installation to Kerwin’s squad will beryllium put backmost into improving nan surviving conditions and improving nan accommodation that nan group successful our custody unrecorded in,” Dismukes said astatine nan meeting. “I deliberation that is simply a beautiful awesome afloat circle moment.” 

Pittman said connection is already spreading among group still incarcerated.

“To spot really elated group are who are incarcerated, who cognize me, and immoderate of nan individuals who I was incarcerated with, it brings maine joyousness to cognize that potentially, erstwhile they travel home, they could travel here,” Pittman said.

The field will beryllium straight crossed nan thoroughfare from Neuse Correctional Institution, a 788-bed medium-custody installation for men.

“The extremity is to person group astatine Neuse looking complete present and saying, ‘I can’t hold to get crossed nan street,’” Pittman said.

‘They’re coming back’

Opening time cannot travel soon enough, Pittman said. He knows really overmuch request is retired there, and that urgency drives his work.

State leaders are besides progressively focused connected addressing reentry gaps arsenic portion of Reentry 2030, a nationalist inaugural aimed astatine lessening barriers for formerly incarcerated group — 1 successful which North Carolina is simply a leader.

The plan focuses connected improving economical mobility, entree to intelligence and beingness wellness attraction and lodging opportunities for formerly incarcerated group — goals that Pittman is moving to beforehand pinch nan campus.

But he will request much backing to get nan field crossed nan decorativeness statement — and to tally it. Renovations are expected to costs millions of dollars, and Pittman is still fundraising. He is moving pinch an designer to finalize nan creation scheme and associated costs. 

Still, he’s assured that group will grasp nan powerfulness of investing successful nan project.

“Over 90 percent of nan group incarcerated get out, truthful they’re coming back,” Pittman said. “True nationalist information looks for illustration investing successful people, investing successful programs that activity for these individuals to thief them really get complete that [initial reentry] play to wherever they request stability.

“This is that field that’s going to support them, that’s gonna judge successful them, that’s gonna put successful them.”

Republish our articles for free, online aliases successful print, nether a Creative Commons license.