A Mississippi nonprofit aimed at rehabilitating inmates is bringing industry professionals, advocates, community partners, and leaders together for a convening on how to promote the best reentry outcomes statewide.
Martha Claire Bullen, chief reentry officer at MAGCOR, said the From Barriers to Bridges convening is an opportunity for Mississippians to gain a better understanding of the challenges inmates face upon release. It will also serve as a hub for those who work with newly released inmates and their families, as well as state leaders, to come together and work in lockstep to build a better future for the incarcerated population.
“If you care about this population, you know every year you’re going to go to From Barriers to Bridges and sit in a room with people who care about incarcerated Mississippians and those who have been in those spaces,” Bullen said. “You will get a chance to connect with people, have some support, and have a warm handoff to resources.”
The event will take place at the Jackson Medical Mall Event Center on Woodrow Wilson Avenue from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Nov. 13. An opening reception will take place the night before from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. During the opening reception, officials will pay tribute to the late Cynetra Freeman, a formerly incarcerated individual who founded the Mississippi Center for Re-entry and worked to help released inmates have a successful reintroduction into society.
Freeman died in 2024 at age 38. She battled end-stage renal failure. To posthumously honor her commitment to incarcerated individuals and giving them a chance to be successful after prison, MAGCOR will present Freeman’s family with a custom-made award.
“She had started in her work an annual convening, and we want to pay homage to the fact that she had started something that I think was going to be amazing and bring all the people together. And then she passed away, and nobody took up the torch and kept it going,” Bullen said. “We want to do that because we think it’s important to get everybody in the room, but we don’t want to skip over the fact that she was the visionary of that.”
During the convening, guests will have the chance to gain a better understanding of the barriers inmates face upon reentry into society. They will also hear from experts on best practices to help newly released inmates return to communities across Mississippi with positive momentum, rather than setting them up to land in a cycle that might lead them back to prison.
Interactive sessions at the convening include a lesson on how crucial the first 72 hours post-release are for an inmate who just got out of prison, a workshop on how to build a healthy environment for inmates once they’re released, a guide on the legal barriers inmates face upon reentry, and a discussion on the burden placed on families of inmates throughout the incarceration and reentry processes.
There will also be a twist on how people identify themselves at the convening. And while Bullen did not go into detail, she said it will be a way for guests to put themselves in the shoes of an incarcerated individual.
“When you go to a conference, you get that name badge. We’re going to kind of flip the script on that and use it as a way to, throughout the day, feel a little bit of what an incarcerated person experiences,” Bullen said. “They really have to fight to be recognized by their name, not by who they were — a number or their incarceration history. We’re going to use that play a little bit during the conference, which we think will be a powerful through line.”
Guests will get the chance to hear the story of reentry from a Mississippi perspective. The video will feature former inmates and their families telling their stories about incarceration and the process of an inmate returning to his or her community.
Bullen is hopeful the convening will capture the interest of not only the general public, but also elected officials. MAGCOR has invited governing officials and legislators to be present at the event in hopes that the testimonies, workshops, and other activities will encourage lawmakers to dedicate funding for reentry services. She also believes their presence would give hope to those who were once behind bars.
“I think it’s a really powerful moment for people who have experienced incarceration to walk into a place like this and see a senator or representative in the room because they feel seen,” Bullen said.
“There’s a need for a continued investigation for all the things around this space, but particularly around how we fund reentry,” she continued. “We know we want the recidivism rate to go down. But we know that, in doing that, the things that are required cost money. … It will be powerful if we can get some of them in the room.”
Tickets to the opening reception are $5 and can be purchased here. The convening is free of charge, though donations are encouraged and can be made here.
