Voices | Meet Michael: “We are saving lives and restoring hope”

After 30 years in prison, Michael knew that he was ready to rebuild his life. “If you don’t prepare yourself for reentry, you prepare yourself to fail,” he says. Indeed, his planning and determination to prosper were key factors in helping him rebuild his community as successfully as he has after returning home. Michael now works at Exodus Transitional Community in New York City, an organization supporting and advocating for formerly incarcerated people. As lead facilitator for its Alternatives to Incarceration program, Michael partners with case managers and court advocates to persuade judges to enroll first-time offenders in Exodus’s intervention program, in lieu of handing down a prison sentence. He is deeply proud of his work. At Exodus, he says, “we are saving lives and restoring hope.”
Vera works to end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, people who are immigrants, and people experiencing poverty. Vera Voices centers the lives of those most impacted by these injustices. By sharing the stories of system-impacted people, we aim to move past the labels that strip them of their humanity and dispel the negative stereotypes forced upon them.
For more information and to find out how you can help us end mass incarceration, visit Vera.org
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