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In this installment of her series, April talks about the latest advocacy initiatives she's become involved with.   The Coalition of Black Forensic Peer Support Specialists supports Black people adversely impacted by the justice system.  Jingle advocates for juveniles who've received a life sentence.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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Arise Collective is one of those rare organizations that provides housing for women transitioning from prison.  But that's just the beginning.   Arise provides emotional support, teaches life skills needed to become independent and, as we'll learn in this episode, even offers the opportunity to get a college degree.  We'll meet two Arise residents who are taking advantage of that opportunity.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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In Part Two of our Arise for Women series, we meet two women who are in the Arise program.  Each one has children and each one has done prison time for offenses related to substance use disorder.   They've come forward to tell their stories to offer hope to others caught in the grip of addiction.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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While the female incarceration rate in North Carolina continues to rise at an alarming rate, there's precious little reentry support available for women.   Arise Collective in Raleigh aims to change that by providing not just housing, but also wrap-around services to help women get their back on their feet.  

In our first of a three-part series, Reentry Project Director Kimberly Stone describes the many ways in which Arise provides stability and support for formerly incarcerated women.   We also discover how her own lived experience informs her work.  

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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In 2024, one of four people in North Carolina’s prisons were released to homelessness.  On the other end, people who lose their housing because of poverty or addiction often find themselves in jail.  And the cycle continues.  

In this episode, we meet a physician who has devoted his career to treating the unhoused.   Another gentleman describes  what it's like to cycle through the loop between homelessness and prison.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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Ronnie Harris is a natural born storyteller.  So when he was encouraged to document his 33-years in prison, he sat down and wrote a memoir.   Listen to his story and discover why, for all the violence and brutality, he considers the real punishment of incarceration to be time itself.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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Some 20,000 children in North Carolina have a parent who’s incarcerated.   And yet, these young people often remain invisible in the eyes of society. That’s why the work that Melissa Radcliff does to connect children with their incarcerated parents and grandparents is so important.  In this episode, we attend Parent Day at Orange Correctional and learn how Melissa Radcliff became an ardent advocate for the children of incarcerated men and women.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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The final episode of our season takes you deep inside the fight to end one of America's most disturbing prison practices: solitary confinement. When Craig Waleed spent 30 days in "the box," he began hallucinating and questioning his existence. Years later, he's working with Disability Rights North Carolina to ensure others don't suffer the same fate.

"Research shows that any amount of time exposed to solitary confinement is detrimental to one's psychological makeup," Craig explains. "It can cause atrophy to the brain to the point where parts of the brain will not recover." This reality is why the United Nations considers isolation beyond 15 days to be torture under the Mandela Rules – standards most US prisons ignore.

We also meet Dolores Canales, whose activism began when her son was placed in indefinite solitary confinement at California's Pelican Bay Prison. When prisoners launched hunger strikes to protest these conditions in 2011 and 2013, Dolores became a principal organizer, helping to form California Families Against Solitary Confinement and eventually co-founding the national Unlock the Box campaign.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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Kwame Teague- better known as Dutch - has become an award winning, critically acclaimed author while serving a life sentence for a crime he claims he didn’t commit.  While in prison, Mr. Teague has helped create a new genre of literature called urban fiction – known for its gritty ,fast-moving stories about gangsters and street life.  

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.

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In Episode 5 of April's series, On a Mission with a Purpose, she talks to a man who has experienced incarceration from both sides.  As a young man, he worked as a Corrections Officer in a youth detention center in Butner, North Carolina.   Years later, he  himself landed in prison with a 3-year sentence.  Hear his story and learn about his current work as a peer support specialist for South Light, a mental health and substance use treatment center in Durham.

In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate.  April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.