
The Rev. Reggie Longcrier is seen in his office at Exodus Homes in Hickory, N.C. preparing for his trip to Washington D.C. on February 28, 2012 to participate in a national forum for faith leaders to brainstorm strategies to end mass incarceration hosted by The Sentencing Project. To prepare for the forum, he has been studying national trends and current research on the subject such as a 2011 Pew Charitable Trust report called “State of Recidivism, The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons”, and “The New Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander.
The Rev. Reggie Longcrier, founding executive director of Exodus Homes is going to Washington, D.C. to participate in a planning meeting of religious leaders convened by The Sentencing Project to develop a long term vision and strategy for ending mass incarceration The meeting on Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 in Washington, D.C. is part of a 9-month process of exploring the dramatic rise in the prison population in the United States, and has included state based advocates, formerly incarcerated persons, and national organizations working towards reforming the nation’s criminal justice system. Faith leaders play an important role in calling for significant changes in the criminal justice system because of their ability to expand the constituency engaged in reform.
Exodus Homes is a faith-based United Way agency that provides 63 beds of supportive housing to homeless recovering people returning to the community from treatment centers and prison in Hickory, N.C. This is not the first time representatives from Exodus Homes have been invited to help shape national policy in Washington.
The goal of this convening is to bring together faith-based leaders who can help identify the structure and framework of a national campaign to end mass incarceration. Faith leaders play an important role in calling for significant changes in the criminal justice system because of their ability to expand the constituency engaged in reform. Longcrier was invited because of the national reputation of excellence at Exodus Homes which includes his work as chaplain of Catawba Correctional Center in Newton, N.C.
1 comments
Pastor Longcrier has responded to a critical need in America. I truly believe that God and his servants are the only ones that can transform "certain individuals" from a life of addiction to one of hope and certainty, free from the bondage of addiction. May Exodus House and its caretakers continue their blessed work transforming and restoring individuals lives………