Mayor Randall Woodfin announces Re-Entry Task Force to help lower recidivism rate
Mayor Randall Woodfin today announced establishment of the Re-Entry Task Force, an initiative that will help formerly incarcerated persons reacclimate themselves to their communities and looks to lower the recidivism rate in Birmingham.
The task force will include Brandon Johnson, director of the city’s Community Engagement Office; Stephanie Hicks of the Offenders Alumni Association; and Kerri Pruitt of the Dannon Project, which provides re-entry services to previously incarcerated persons.
“I can tell you that there are people who’ve been released from prison and they are living in Birmingham today,” the mayor said. “What I cannot tell you is if they are receiving the help they need. I don’t profess to know all the answers, but I do want to provide assistance for those sincerely seeking a second chance at life.”
Mayor Woodfin committed his administration to meeting five key goals:
- Establishing a task force membership with firsthand experience in dealing with incarceration
- Establishing the scale and nature of recidivism in Birmingham
- Supporting families and communities affected by recidivism
- Identifying key stakeholders to affect recidivism
- Providing actionable recommendations to the Mayor’s Office
Johnson noted that while 25 percent of the state population is African-American, 53 percent of the state prison population is African-American. The goal of the task force is to rebound from that disparity and “to create a safer city for all residents of Birmingham.”
The mayor also took the opportunity to clarify his comments on encouraging former offenders to turn in their guns in exchange for jobs.
“While that statement was heard in my position as mayor, it was made from my heart as a citizen,” he said. “And I hope that other citizens will be willing to do the same for their city.”
“One of the things I’ve heard as mayor is that people commit crime because they don’t have a job or they want a job,” he added. “As mayor I’m willing to do anything to help, including help you find a job. So if you bring that gun, through our partnerships, we’ll assist in any manner we can. We have to leverage every idea and creative way to reduce crime in this city.”
In the spirit of that support, Mayor Woodfin announced that a Second Chance Job Fair will be held Wednesday, May 30 at the Bill Harris Arena from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A job readiness workshop also will be held Tuesday, May 22 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the Birmingham Career Center, 3216 Fourth Avenue South.
