Community event slideshow

The Reentry Project hosted, supported, partnered or participated in numerous community events throughout 2017. Here is a brief summary in pictures.


The Reentry Project and partnering news organizations hosted a community event in May at the African American Museum in Philadelphia called “If These Walls Could Talk: Solving Reentry and Recidivism.” WURD Radio shared this video of the event in its entirety.

As seen in the next three photos, dozens of volunteers came together for a weekend in October to participate in “PowerUp Reentry: A Digital Solutions Day” in an effort to create tools and services intended to support people through life after incarceration in Philadelphia. PhillyCam produced this video report.

Read more about Powerup Reentry:

The Philadelphia Media Network and The Reentry Project hosted “Reentry: Hiring from an untapped pool,” a panel discussion about hiring formerly incarcerated people, held at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of local companies who frequently hire from the reentry pool spoke about why they do it, what the challenges are, and why they think other businesses could benefit.

Dozens of community members turned out in June for The Re-Entry Film Festival, including a screening and discussion at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. The opening speakers — pictured here — had spent nearly 150 combined years in prison.

Staffers from The Reentry Project, WHYY and PhillyCAM recorded the testimony of participants who volunteered to share their journeys through reentry during a symposium called “If These Walls Could Talk: Solving Reentry and Recidivism” in West Philadelphia in May. In this photo, prison reform advocate Ismael Nazario shares his experience at New York’s Rikers Island jail, where he spent 300 days in solitary confinement — all before he was ever convicted of a crime.

A woman joins in a group exercise of taking selfies during The Reentry Project’s culminating event. “The Reentry Blueprint: Stories and Solutions from the Formerly Incarcerated” took place in November, 2017 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The event was intended to advance the conversation on reentry in Philadelphia by providing a platform for formerly incarcerated people to present effective models that address the challenges facing others with criminal histories.