 Photo - Sara Wong - Columbia Magazine By Rebecca Kelliher - Columbia Magazine On a recent Tuesday night, an unusual crowd of alumni, employers, and formerly incarcerated men and women — many still on parole — gathers at Low Library for what will turn out to be a two-hour exercise in frustration and humility.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE  ACTIVIST DELLA JOHNSON ATTENDS AN ALBANY RALLY TO RELEASE OLDER ADULTS FROM PRISONS. PHOTO VIA RAPP. By Allen Arthur
Special to the Eagle In the elegant foyer of Columbia University’s Low Library, dozens of students, professors, and business leaders gathered for a unique, and ultimately frustrating, lesson on parole. Sue Ellen Allen, a fiery Southern veteran of seven years in federal prison, took the microphone and laid out the group’s goals: Using the few items she provided from a small plastic bag and the support of various “service providers” stationed around the hall, each attendee would have to navigate a re-entry and parole simulation. After the first 15-minute round, participants said they felt discouraged, angry and hopeless. After 30 minutes, they were stealing from each other. The results were typical, said Allen, who travels the country facilitating the simulation to demonstrate the frustrating maze of parole supervision. She said people are typically astonished. “Outrage and incredulity,” Allen said. “[They say] ‘I didn’t know it was this way. I had no idea. How can we do this? This is stupid. This is a waste of money. How can we change it?’ And the problem is changing it is not easy.” Read the full article HERE.  Former inmate Sue Ellen Allen has created Reinventing ReEntry, which aims at educating inmates on the problems they can face reintegrating with society.
WATCH THE VIDEO Sue Ellen Allen, the founder of Reinventing Reentry, knew more could be done for formerly incarcerated citizens. She created Reinventing Reentry with the intention of creating meaningful change in Arizona and across our #Incarceration Nation. Allen, #cut50, and other criminal justice advocates in the community will participate in the National Day of Empathy on March 5 at the Arizona State Capitol to send a message to legislators that bigger steps need to be taken when it comes to criminal justice reform.
Our founder, Sue Ellen Allen, spoke at the White House Convening on Criminal Justice Reform on Nov. 30, 2016 |
