ANNOTATION INSTRUCTIONS: When you see a light red highlight, click on the small comment box to the right to read the reporter’s annotation.
The Athens Reentry Collaborative was started by Sarah Shannon earlier this year. Shannon is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Georgia with an area of study focusing on the criminal justice system and punishment.
The collaborative is focused on providing what Shannon describes as “peer-to-peer” support during the process of reentry.
Shannon explains that reentry is, “The process of leaving incarceration and trying to reestablish yourself in the community, get a job, housing, all those kinds of challenges.”
Why It’s Newsworthy: Shannon teaches a class made up of half students from the University of Georgia and half students who are incarcerated called the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. She noticed a gap in the Athens community once her incarcerated students began transitioning back into society. The Athens Reentry Collaborative was created in response to that gap.
Shannon decided to reach out to those she knew in the Athens community that had their own experiences with the criminal justice system and reentry to become involved in the Athens Reentry Collaborative.
I started tapping some of the people that I knew in the Athens community already. Particularly those that themselves have had experience being incarcerated because I felt like those are likely individuals who have a certain kind of expertise to offer, whether or not they’re working professionally with reentry. Folks who have been there, done that,” said Shannon.
Now the collaborative has grown to between five and 10 members who attend meetings every Tuesday at The Sparrow’s Nest in Athens. Each week, members bring questions and updates on what they hope to accomplish as part of their transition back into society.
Listen to the three-part podcast series below to learn more about the collaborative and its members.
Video Player
Episode one covers the Athens Reentry Collaborative and gives an overview of the collaborative’s mission, introducing you to some of the people who got the collaborative off the ground. Founder Sarah Shannon and board member Shane Simms explain, in their own words, their hopes for the Athens Reentry Collaborative and how they can grow.
Video Player
In Episode two, one of the members of the Athens Reentry Collaborative, Robert Stovall, introduces himself and tells his story. One of the main things he hopes to gain from his membership is guidance on how to grow his own nonprofit.
Video Player
Episode three introduces Albert Thomas. After spending more than 30 years in the criminal justice system, Thomas is now a member of the Athens Reentry Collaborative. What he hopes to achieve with the help from the collaborative is unlike any of the other members.
Alexandra Travis is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Show Comments (12)
Emotionally Healthy Discipleship
The purpose of Athens Access to Justice Initiative is to provide services. vision, measurable goals and prioritized actions, that provides a new way of thinking on how to expand Athens’ robustness, flexibility and inclusiveness.
Grady Capstone Journalist
The process of leaving incarceration and trying to reestablish yourself in the community, get a job, housing, all those kinds of challenges.”Alexandra Travis: “If you do not have a lot of family support which unfortunately a lot of incarcerated people don’t, how do you find somewhere to live after you get out? How do you not go into homelessness? How do you have the support where you’re kind of motivated to go out and search for jobs?”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The collaborative is focused on providing what Shannon describes as “peer-to-peer” support during the process of reentry.Alexandra Travis: “Just having the basic needs like food, showers … how do you get those things because you need that to have the confidence to go out and get a job and try to get yourself back on your feet. But without that support from other people how do you do that?”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The Athens Reentry Collaborative was started by Sarah ShannonAlexandra Travis: “She (Shannon) just really wants to make it a point to educate people about people in the prison system because we don’t really talk about them enough.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The Athens Reentry Collaborative was started by Sarah ShannonAlexandra Travis: “She (Sarah Shannon) just really wants to make it a point to educate people about people in the prison system because we don’t really talk about them enough.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
Albert Thomas. After spending more than 30 years in the criminal justice system, Thomas is now a member of the Athens Reentry Collaborative.Alexandra Travis: “The reason Albert (Thomas) found her (Sarah Shannon) was there was an article about her in the newspaper and he reached out to her … but they realized that they probably need to do a social media campaign … and they were hoping maybe with this story, more people would hear about them … getting them exposure and kind of a plan in place because right now it’s just kind of word of mouth.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
Albert ThomasAlexandra Travis: “The reason Albert found her (Sarah Shannon) was there was an article about her in the newspaper and he reached out to her … but they realized that they probably need to do a social media campaign … and they were hoping maybe with this story, more people would hear about them … getting them exposure and kind of a plan in place because right now it’s just kind of word of mouth.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
Robert StovallAlexandra Travis: “He’s starting a gaming center for kids after school to help them with their homework.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
Listen to the three-part podcast series below to learn more about the collaborative and its members.Alexandra Travis: “I was going to do just one long podcast episode. Then I started editing it and I was just thinking, you know these people that are trying to get things off the ground and get things going, they deserve their own episodes. Just to tell their own stories. I didn’t think it’d be good to jam it all into one and then probably by the time I get to them people would be uninterested in it anyway. So I decided to break it up that way.”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The collaborative is focused on providing what Shannon describes as “peer-to-peer” support during the process of reentry.Alexandra Travis: “Just having the basic needs like food, shower … how do you get those things because you need that to have the confidence to go out and get a job and try to get yourself back on your feet. But without that support from other people how do you do that?”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The process of leaving incarceration and trying to reestablish yourself in the community, get a job, housing, all those kinds of challenges.”Alexandra Travis: “If you don’t have a lot of family support which unfortunately a lot of incarcerated people don’t, how do you find somewhere to live after you get out? How do you not go into homelessness? How do you have the support where you’re kind of motivated to go out and search for jobs?”
Grady Capstone Journalist
The process of leaving incarceration and trying to reestablish yourself in the community, get a job, housing, all those kinds of challenges.”Alexandra Travis: