Several area civic and faith leaders met in the Parkview branch of the Iberia Parish Library on Saturday to discuss coordinated efforts to aid the recently incarcerated reenter life outside of prison. 

The program, part of an initiative created by the  P.U.S.H. Coalition and the Iberia Community Resource Coalition, is called “A New Chapter,” and is described as a “transitional aftercare and mentoring program” for the recently incarcerated. 

It comes on the heels of the state legislature’s new overhaul of the Louisiana criminal justice system, called the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Package. A part of that legislative package granted an early release for about 100 inmates in the 16th Judicial District, which covers Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin parishes. 

The Rev. Wilfred Johnson of the Little Zorah Baptist Church in New Iberia led the discussions Saturday. 

“This bill is supposed to save $2.79 million by releasing prisoners early. That doesn’t just go away or go to someone else, that money is supposed to be reinvested into those communities,” he said. “This bill gives them the opportunity to give them something to help them when they come out,” he said. “These guys can be the answers to our own community’s problems. If they’ve got their head screwed on tight, and they’ve got their head right, and their pants pulled up — and they’ve got some resources.”

Johnson had pastors and ministers there, but also counselors, a former police officer, and public servants, including Iberia Parish President Larry Richard, who offered his full support for P.U.S.H.’s efforts.

“I’m with you. I support what y’all are doing,” Richard said. 

Keithlynn James, program director for A Plus Family and Community Services, which offers in-home family and individual counseling and care service, was also in attendance.

“We need to get these guys focused not on where they were, but on where they can go,” he said. “We need to stop them from focusing on that rearview mirror and focusing instead on the big picture, which is the windshield in front of them,” he said. “There are a lot of kids in the community that don’t have fathers because of incarceration. Let’s get some fathers back.” 

The coalition is currently organizing behavioral and mental health counseling, educational resources and job training and employment services and resources for those making the transition out of prison. 

For more information or to get involved with the P.U.S.H. Coalition or affiliated programs, contact the Rev. Wilfred Johnson at 256-6856 or Pastor James Broussard at 256-6461. Additional information can be found @ANewChapter on Facebook.