“I just feel constantly suffocating. I feel trapped. There are a lot of times I want to go hiking or just go camping. I don’t want to go because I know they’re going to follow me there. You know what I mean? I go to work grudgingly because I don’t want to be followed around all day and I keep it strict to what I do – work, meetings, sometimes I go to the gym, but they’re always there too. Like I said, I got footage of all this, but it’s just been a real big barrier, I just feel really stuck and trapped.”

Reimagine Arkansas partnership with Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition

11

Voices

3

Conversations

1

Region (NW Arkansas)

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Whatever our color, background or zip code, most of us believe in second chances ☊.

But for formerly incarcerated residents of Northwest Arkansas who have owned their mistakes ☊, paid their dues ☊, become sober ☊ and changed their whole lives around ☊, they feel entrapped ☊ in a system that is determined ☊ and motivated ☊ to see them fail ☊.

Organized and supported by the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, this collection offers a rare opportunity for individuals convicted ☊ of felonies in Washington and Benton Counties to tell their stories ☊, share their wrongs ☊ and harness ☊ their expertise to reimagine a more just system.

These were not stories of criminal pasts but of traumas ☊ related to abuse ☊, drugs ☊ and addiction ☊, racism ☊, mental health ☊ and partner violence ☊—breadcrumbs ☊ that should have led to real opportunities for recovery and independence. Instead, they were met with the full force of police authority ☊ that accused ☊, shamed ☊, exploited ☊, removed ☊ and destroyed ☊ their families pushing them into a familiar darkness ☊. These first interactions wrote the rules ☊ and set the tone ☊ for ongoing harassment ☊, forcing some to move out of town ☊ or out of state ☊. Others gave in ☊ or gave up ☊.

When it’s made available ☊, compassionate ☊ and appropriate ☊ support is a gamechanger, resulting in real opportunities for healing, education ☊, livable wage employment ☊ and a clean slate ☊. But for most individuals convicted of felonies, the powerlessness ☊ that comes with the disease of addiction ☊ and abuse is exacerbated by a system that deprives them of employment ☊, the right to vote ☊, public assistance and the social connections ☊ and leisure that we all need and want. What’s more, they live with the terror ☊ that, at any moment, the police can choose to pull them over ☊, run their tags ☊, collect on unpaid fines and fees ☊ and send them back to prison, undoing every small, fragile step forward.

“Instead of tearing us down, what would it look like to build us up?” ☊ Participants are united in their insistence that poverty, mental health and addiction should be non-criminal offenses ☊, eliminating the need for more jails and investing more in the community ☊. They advocate for addiction recovery programs ☊ and resources that actually address the root of the problems ☊, including affordable housing ☊, expanded employment, GED ☊ and credential programs, more public defenders ☊, better mental health protocols ☊ and training ☊, and police accountability ☊.

The future of these hardworking ☊ individuals committed to recovery should not be left to chance ☊, second or otherwise. Their aspirations are familiar — to be a “real mommy” ☊ and a “paw-paw,” ☊ earn a simple living ☊, enjoy nature ☊ and take care ☊ of those they love. They deserve, just like the rest of us ☊, real opportunities to achieve those goals. Until then, they work and volunteer to knock down ☊ the system, doing the real service work ☊, reciprocating the love ☊ they’ve received and reclaiming the power ☊ they’ve been denied.