Reentry Opportunity Center helps Boone County residents reassimilate after prison

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

In2Action's Reentry Opportunity Center (ROC) held its grand opening for the new location on Paris Road in Columbia Tuesday morning.

The ROC will house resources for those transitioning from prison life to civilian life. Most of the staff have "lived experience," meaning they also went through the In2Action program and have successfully rehabilitated their lives. In the past nine years, In2Action successfully helped 109 people through their program.

Gov. Mike Parson spoke at the event about the number of incarcerated individuals in Missouri. Parson said he's worked to reduce that number through pardons and supporting rehabilitation centers, such as the ROC.

"The point of it is you learn by your mistakes," Parson said. "You learn by people willing to help one another out and make a difference in somebody's life."

Willie McCurry, a residential housing manager for In2Action, went from prison to managing three halfway houses. McCurry said it was the faith aspect that attracted him to the program.

"I was actually in prison myself; I ran into my rock bottom," McCurry said. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Each year, 450 people in Boone County are released from prison. According to In2Action, half of them end up back behind bars within two years. The ROC aims to change that by providing mentorship and resources, such as job readiness training.

"We're here just to help individuals who have been just as involved get reacquainted with the community," McCurry said.