Meck Co. officials give $600 allowance to some formerly incarcerated individuals

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Mecklenburg County officials are giving some formerly incarcerated people a hand up after leaving the detention center. People who qualify can get up to $600 in an account to pay for essentials.

“If they have any sort of general welfare needs, which could be things like housing or utilities or groceries, if they have childcare needs or any sort of health care needs, they can basically notify the department of that and then we will be able to take care of those things like on their behalf,” Sonya Harper, director of criminal justice services for Mecklenburg County said.

Harper says the Supplemental Income Pilot Program kicked off July 1st with 60 participants. Within one day, at least a quarter of people have already taken advantage of their allowance to have expenses paid.

People who qualify will have an account set up at the re-entry office. The office will handle purchasing on their behalf.

“There are very close correlations between socioeconomics and criminal activity,” Harper said. “We kind of see this as sort of a new idea, we see it as a way to really kind of address some of those core issues that have gotten folks involved in our justice system to begin with.”

Harper says success will be measured by stable housing, employment, and recidivism of the individuals. The goal of the program is to reduce the likelihood of people reoffending while supplementing their income.

“When folks re-enter if they’re not able to get a job and if they’re not able to have housing and basic needs those are the folks that we tend to see back in our justice system, they kind of go back to criminal activity,” Harper said. ”That is really kind of the population that we’re looking at here and that we’re hoping to make some sort of a difference with.”

On average, it costs more than $40,000 a year to incarcerate one person in North Carolina .

“When you’re looking at $600 per month for a person over the course of 12 months, that’s significantly less than the amount it costs the state to incarcerate someone in a state facility,” Harper said.

People who qualify are not allowed to spend their money on alcohol, drugs, gambling, fines, monthly subscriptions, designer goods and other non-essential items. People who are convicted of violent or sex crimes are not eligible for the program.

To stay in the program, participants must stay in contact with the re-entry office and keep up with the terms of their probation. They must also avoid any criminal activity.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.