Hundreds Gather to Help Former Prisoners Reenter Society on October 15-18 in Baltimore
This year over 630,000 men and women will be released from prison to the
community. A report issued by the Pew Center for the States last year reported
that for the first time one in one hundred Americans are now in prison. Over half
of those released from prison are expected to be back in prison within three
years. The high prison recidivism rate ensures that Americans will experience
high incarceration rates for years to come. The United States currently spends
about 50 billion dollars to fuel its corrections system. President Obama has
expressed that in order to reverse this trend faith-based and community
organizations must play a vital role.
On October 15-18, 2009 hundreds of faith-based and community leaders,
corrections officials and pastors will convene at the BWI Marriott Hotel for a
national prisoner re-entry conference in Baltimore, MD to address the challenges faced by men and women in transition from prison. The conference, sponsored by CAPA, (Christian Association for Prison Aftercare), the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Angel Food Ministries and the National Women’s Prison Project is expected to draw nearly 500 people from over 40 states.
Joseph Williams, Founder and President of CAPA, knows firsthand the challenges former inmates face immediately upon release. His personal experience as an ex-felon combined with academic training and professional experience uniquely qualify him for this task.
This conference will offer over 30 workshops on various prisoner reentry issues
and five keynote speakers including Bishop Bart Pierce from the Rock City
Church. Attendees will receive hours of professional reentry training, connect
with hundreds of reentry stakeholders, attend a special Funders’ Forum and
learn about new reentry trends, policies and programs.
For more information on the conference contact Ms. Jones at (313) 875-3883 ext. 10 or register on-line at www.capaassociation.org.