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Leading Into New Communities to expand local reentry council services into Pender County
Summary
LINC, a New Hanover–based nonprofit, presented a plan to establish a local reentry council covering Pender and three neighboring counties, promising housing, case management and transportation support for people returning from incarceration.
Frankie Roberts, executive director of Leading Into New Communities Inc. (LINC), told the Pender County Board of Commissioners on May 5 that LINC has been invited to expand its local reentry council services into Pender County.
Roberts said the nonprofit, headquartered in New Hanover County, provides housing assistance, case management and other services intended to help people returning from prison “turn their setbacks into comebacks.” He said LINC has run a local reentry council in New Hanover County since about 2015 and was asked to expand after the state’s reentry 2030 plan called for councils covering 53 counties.
Linda Thomas, LINC local reentry coordinator, described the services the council proposes to provide in Pender County and three neighboring counties: housing help and landlord outreach, support finding employment, coordination of transportation to appointments, and connections to mental-health services. “We want to make sure that we are getting them all the services that we need,” Thomas said.
Michelle Gunn, deputy director of LINC, described public-safety and public-health rationales cited by the organization, including a higher risk of fatal overdose in the weeks after release from incarceration. Gunn said the statewide Reentry 2030 effort focuses on improving economic mobility, expanding housing, and removing barriers to reentry. She said LINC estimates “nearly 1,000 individuals in this county who are justice‑involved,” including people on probation or parole.
The presenters said LINC expects some state-sponsored initiatives and funding to follow after a local reentry council is established, and described the council as a convening network that can attract services to areas that currently lack them. No formal vote or action was requested of the board at the meeting; the presentation concluded with the board members thanking the LINC team.
The presentation gave commissioners basic information about the program model, the populations it targets and the services it intends to offer; LINC’s staff gave contact information for follow-up.
The board did not take formal action on the presentation during the May 5 meeting.
