October 29, 2018, Sonali Dewali - Safe Kids Stories
There are 300,000 formerly incarcerated individuals in Philadelphia, about 20% of the city’s population. According to Jondhi Harrell, founder and director of The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), that means “we could control the voting vantage of the city; there’s no bloc larger than us that could potentially vote in the same direction.”
Mr. Harrell was incarcerated himself for bank robbery and served nearly 20 years in prison. He became an activist while behind bars and later founded TCRC, an organization that provides assistance to citizens returning from prison, such as employment and housing.
Mr. Harrell believes voting integral to re-entering society in order to “fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship.”
Read the full story and interview with TCRC's Jondhi Harrell here!