RALEIGH, N.C. — Returning to life after prison can sometimes come with its own unique barriers outside the confines of a cell: getting approved for housing and securing a job with a record.

In a move aimed at addressing recidivism rates and reintegration of formerly incarcerated people back into society, Gov. Roy Cooper officially declared April as Second Chance Month.

The North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission released a 2022 report, finding a 49% recidivist arrest rate within two years from a sample of 16,340 individuals released from prison in 2019. 

More than 30 years ago, Brian Hamilton founded the nonprofit Inmates to Entrepreneurs in North Carolina in hopes to help former prisoners become their own bosses and therefore reducing the rate of recidivism. 

Today, Inmates to Entrepreneurs has helped that mission by expanding to 19 states and operating in multiple different countries as well.

“People need a viable way to pay their bills. And if they don’t have that, they’re going to go back to prison,” Hamilton explained. “We got to get people a real viable second chance.”

Inmates to Entrepreneurs assists people with criminal backgrounds to start their own business through online education and in-person courses taught by entrepreneurs across the country.

“We’ve touched over a million people through our online programs. And of course, we teach, in person. We do regular courses. But, there’s been a lot of great stories of success,” Hamilton said.

If Hamilton looks familiar, you may have seen the self-made entrepreneur on the ABC television show, “Free Enterprise.”

The show was modeled after Inmates to Entrepreneurs, coaching those who are or who have been incarcerated.

Click here to check out the nonprofit’s programs.