Davidson County Transitional Services got involved with this event kind of late but knew that I could not let this opportunity pass our community by. I planned about four days of events which included a expungement clinic, employee rights clinic, a viewing and discussion of the featured documentary Riker’s: An American Jail and ended with a program centered around incarcerated families. I feel this series of events brought a lot of awareness to our community.
The individuals that came out to the discussion on the documentary Riker’s were very engaged and shocked that these events occur in American jails. They were very upset with the treatment of the incarcerated and were even more upset about the fact that these individuals had not been convicted as they were awaiting trial. Although it was not highly attended, the individuals who did participate were very informative about what they needed in the form of resources and support from the community. This population still deals with a lot of community stigma and this event was a stone in the path of breaking that stigma. Davidson County Transitional Services will continue to work with our community to bring awareness to Mass Incarceration and how it not only affects the individual incarcerated but their family and the community as a whole.
We will remain Locked in Solidarity!!
by Wendy Sellars
