SARASOTA, Fla — A Sarasota non-profit is raising awareness about how difficult it is for people who are returning to society after time away in jail or prison.
Some of the biggest challenges facing the formerly incarcerated include stigma from society, the inability to re-connect with family and friends, finding employment with a livable wage, and dealing with mental health and drug addiction issues, the non-profit says. Project 180 has been trying to help make the transition easier and would like more help from the community.
Project 180, which partners with local businesses to lend a helping hand to formerly incarcerated people, will be holding a symposium to shed more light on the challenges.
The organization, in partnership with The Boxser Diversity Initiative and local businesses like Beneva Flowers and Plantscapes, will present its ninth season of the annual Strong Voices Lecture Series which is dedicated to topics and conversations around prisoner-reentry. The theme of the 2022 iteration of the series is "The Disease of Addiction: Filling Our Prisons and Jails."
The aim of the series, according to the organizers is to educate the public about prisoner reentry issues and help raise funds for its various programs. This includes providing stable housing, educational programs and resources for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. The lecture features nationally recognized scholars, industry experts, community leaders, and those impacted by incarceration and reentry.
Project 180's mission is to help the community reintegrate formerly incarcerated citizens into everyday life and help them stay out of jail and prevent them from relapsing into substance abuse addiction.
"Three of my grandparents were alcoholics and addicts, both of my parents and two of my sisters so it's very prevalent in my family," Ian Bowling who was formerly incarcerated said.
Bowling, 25, is a father of a 1-year-old boy and has, himself, struggled with addiction like members of his family. He said this set him off on the wrong trajectory in life and saw himself rotating in and out of jail.
While he was in his most recent time in jail he said he had time to reflect on the choices he had made and ways to seek redirection. He had heard about Project 180 from his mother and decided to connect with them a few months before he was to be released. Since he got out in September he has been enrolled in Project 180's residential program that helps clients get and keep a job, stabilize and restore their finances and eventually get housing. Bowling said his reintegration has been working out well thanks to guidance from the organization.
"They helped me get my license back like I'm on my way to getting my own car so that I'm not using someone else's for like the first time basically ever and just a lot of things," he said. "I'm really involved in my son's life and they go out of their way. If I can't get somewhere because I am on probation, they help me out."
Since 2008 the group has helped more than 5,000 formerly incarcerated people piece their life back together and take steps toward overcoming addiction.
"It's recovery first of all because without that foundation there is no other way, there's nothing else in your life, you're totally focused on your addiction," Barbara Richards of Project 180 said.
The residential program which started four years ago has helped 75 people.
"We're trying to bring attention to the fact that 75 to 90% of the people who are incarcerated, not only in our state but in the United States, are individuals who suffer from the disease of addiction," Richards said.
At his new job with Zildjian Catering, Bowling is mentored by business owner Mike Zildjian.
Zildjian not only teaches him things he needs to learn to be successful on the job but also watches him closely to ensure he fulfills his end of the bargain by staying on the right track and out of jail.
"The whole system, in general, should be directed toward rehabilitation and that starts in jails and prisons and giving people a chance to change who they are," Bowling said.
Members of the public can visit PROJECT 180 to get more information about how to attend the lecture that will be held at 11:30 a.m. on May 13 at Michael's on East.