Guilford County re-entry simulation highlights barriers after incarceration

At Simkins Pavilion at Barber Park, Guilford County put residents through a re-entry simulation that turned the search for housing, identification, transportation and work into a race against the clock. The June 26 exercise ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1500 Barber Park Drive in Greensboro and was free to attend, with registration handled by email.

The event was organized by Guilford County Division of Public Health’s Drug and Injury Prevention and Violence Prevention programs with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office Re-Entry Initiative, and the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections facilitated it. County leaders said the goal was to reduce stigma, build empathy and encourage collaboration so people leaving jail or prison have a better chance of rebuilding their lives.

Courtney McFadden, the county’s public health director, said, “When individuals are equipped with the resources and support they need to thrive, entire communities benefit.” She said the simulation was meant to spur conversations about strengthening re-entry outcomes and community well-being. Sheriff Danny H. Rogers said he hoped the exercise would help more people understand what returning citizens face as they try to re-enter society.

Those barriers are not abstract in Guilford County. The county cited UNC School of Government figures saying 44% to 49% of incarcerated individuals are re-arrested within two years of release, and 36% return to incarceration. The county also said untreated mental health and substance use disorders can contribute to recidivism, which is why officials are framing re-entry as both a public-safety issue and a public-health issue.

The state’s re-entry system has grown, but it remains uneven. North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction says it has 31 local reentry councils serving 53 counties, and those councils commonly help with housing, employment, transportation, substance abuse and personal documentation. The department also says the NC Joint Reentry Council was established by Gov. Roy Cooper under Executive Order 303 on Jan. 29, 2024, to coordinate cabinet agencies on rehabilitation and re-entry.

Guilford County’s own Re-Entry Initiative says it helps formerly incarcerated and currently incarcerated people with transitional planning and connects them to substance-abuse treatment, mental-health treatment and housing assistance. The county said the June 26 simulation was one more way to make those gaps visible, and to show how quickly a missing ID, an overdue bus ride or a closed door on housing can send a person back toward the system.