MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Reentry opened its permanent location Tuesday in South Memphis. The office aims to improve public safety by helping people who were incarcerated successfully transition back to life in Shelby County.
“I thought, why not get in a program instead of sitting here, wasting my time,” said Justin Sullivan, who said he served 21 months for a possession of narcotics conviction.
From behind bars, he accepted help from a program, which led him to an electrical apprenticeship when he re-entered society. He said he now has a job, a car and a home.
In Shelby County, about 7,000 people are released from prison each year.
“Sometimes, if they get a job, they don’t have the uniforms or the shoes to go on the job, and they can’t keep the job if they don’t have those things. But they haven’t worked, so they don’t have money,” said Phyllis Fickling, who is in charge of the office.
Fickling explained that through grants, staff and partner organizations can purchase uniforms and provide other help. Counselors and parole officers assist with other needs.
City, county, and state leaders gathered on Mississippi Boulevard on Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the office’s 9,000-square-foot building.
A representative for the Tennessee Department of Corrections said the office will serve “as really a tool for breaking the cycle of incarceration and improving public safety and public health.”
The Office of Re-entry started as a pilot program in 2012. It had two temporary homes during that time, one on Adams Avenue and the other on Madison Avenue. The Mississippi Boulevard location is permanent.
The concept came from Operation Safe Community, a gathering of law enforcement and other groups trying to cut crime in Shelby County.
Partner organizations like Lifeline to Success, which helps ex-offenders, said they are ready to coordinate with the office and give more people second chances.
“We envision being able to not only refer, but to accept referrals from people that have come home and that have the tools, but they only need an opportunity,” Rev. DeAndre Brown with Lifeline to Success said.
If you would like more information about the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Re-entry, you may call 222-4550.
