OIC of Rocky Mount to coordinate local reentry council serving Hertford, Bertie, Gates and Chowan

Greg Singleton, presenter for the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of Rocky Mount, told a Gates County town hall audience that OIC will serve as the intermediary agency for a new local reentry council covering Hertford, Bertie, Gates and Chowan counties.

Singleton said the council’s purpose is to help people returning from incarceration transition to the community, lower recidivism and improve public safety by connecting returning citizens and their families to existing local services. “When we say intermediary agency, we’re the ones that’s responsible for the contract itself,” Singleton said.

The program is funded through a reimbursement grant from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, Singleton said. OIC will act as the fiscal agent and must front costs before submitting claims for reimbursement. Singleton said the grant’s allowable line items include housing, transportation, food, clothing, education, employment, mental health, substance‑use treatment and childcare.

Singleton described the council’s structure as an executive committee representing each of the four counties and a monthly advisory board that will connect the council to local resources such as community colleges and departments of social services. He said the council will hire two full‑time case managers and use a case‑management database called Unite Us for intake and client tracking. “We have 2 full time case manager positions ... those positions are posted hopefully on your county website,” Singleton said.

The reentry program is voluntary. In response to a resident’s question about referrals, Singleton said staff will use lists provided by the Department of Adult Corrections for outreach, will hold posted office hours in a space “between here and Gates,” and that participants must opt in. He also urged residents to nominate advisory‑board members and to contact Cynthia Magren, listed in the presentation as the office reentry director, to get involved.

Singleton framed the council as an effort to reduce the county’s “collateral cost of incarceration” by helping people secure employment and stable living arrangements on release. He said OIC of Rocky Mount — which he said has provided services in the region since 1969 — will manage contract execution and serve as the liaison with the state. Singleton asked the community to participate in advisory boards and monthly meetings to ensure local involvement in decisions.

The town hall recessed at the end of the reentry presentation and reconvened later for an opioid task force segment.