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WEBVTT DEFENSE AGAINST THE FLU IS TO GET VACCINATED. NEW IN, FINDING YOUR SPOT IN LIFE. -- NEW AT NOON, FINDING YOUR SPOT IN LIFE AFTER PRISON CAN BE TOUGH IN LIFE. >> THE PROGRAM ALLOWS YOU TO GET BENEFITS IF YOU JUST GOT OUT OF PRISON OR JAIL. YOU WILL FIND THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE AS THEY TRY TO READJUST TO SOCIETY. >> THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS. THEY WILL BE COMING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES. >> IT’S THAT CHALLENGE OF COMING BACK TO THESE OFFICERS ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND FROM THE EYES OF THE INMATE. THE OFFICERS START SIMULATION WITH A ZIPLOC BAG. INSIDE THAT BAG, A PERSON’S NAME, CRIME, AND FINANCIAL SITUATION. THEY ARE USING THIS INFORMATION TO SHAPE HOW LIFE WILL BE AFTER PRISON. THEY GET 15 MINUTES TO GET THINGS DONE. IN THIS CASE THAT 15 MINUTES IS EQUAL TO ONE WEEK. TRANSPORTATION, FOOD, A JOB, HOUSING. AND THE TOUGHEST PART FOR MANY, GETTING AN IDEA. YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW LONG THAT LINE IS. IF THEY RUN OUT OF TIME, IT’S BACK TO JAIL JUST LIKE IT WOULD BE IN REAL LIFE. >> THEY NEED SUPPORT. YES, THEY HAVE HAD CRIMES AND THEY HAVE MADE MISTAKES AND THAT HAS RIPPLE AFFECTS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE. BUT THEY ARE ALSO HUMAN BEINGS THAT DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE >> SHE SAYS EXPERIENCING WHAT OTHERS HAD TO GO THROUGH HELPS HER HELP THE INMATES. SHE THINKS EACH ONE OF THE PROBATION OFFICERS WILL GAIN COMPASSION, SELF-AWARENESS, AND UNDERSTANDING. >> I THINK AS HUMAN BEINGS A MEMBERS OF SOCIETY, WE HAVE A BIT OF A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP SUPPORT AND HELP THEM MOVE THROUGH THAT. >> HELPING OTHERS MOVE THROUGH WHILE HELPING OURSELVES UNDERSTAND.

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Finding your spot in life after jail or prison can be tough. A program in Guilford County hopes to help ex-inmates with re-entry into society.Hosted by the Guilford County Sheriff's Office, the re-entry simulation was facilitated Thursday by Robert A. J. Lang, assistant U.S. attorney coordinator for 'Project Safe Neighborhood,' and others.The program aims to engage participants in placing them "in the shoes" of a person who has just recently been released from jail or prison. "It's not lock them up and throw the key away. It's not how it works," said Sharon Harrison-Pope with the GCSO. "They will be coming back in our community."It's that challenge of coming back that the probation officers and alike are trying to understand from the eyes of an inmate. For the simulation, the officers started with a ziploc bag. Inside the bag was their identity -- information including their name, nature of the crime they committed and financial situation. They used the bag to shape how life will be after prison.Everyone participating received 15 minutes to get things done. The 15 minutes was the equivalent of one-week in "real time."They had to find transportation, food, a job, and even housing.The hardest thing they had to figure out was how to get an identification card."The things we take for granted, even the basic necessities, they have difficulty with," said Harrison-Pope.If the participants ran out of time, it was back to jail -- just like it would be in "real life.""They need support," said Dr. Lacy Frazer, who worked with inmates for decades. "Yes they have committed crimes and made mistakes in their life. That will have ripple effects through their life, but they are also human beings and deserve a second chance."Frazer says experiencing what others had to go through will help her help inmates. She thinks each one of the probation officers in Thursday's experiment will gain compassion, self-awareness, and understanding."I think we also, as human beings and members of society, have a bit of responsibility to help support and help them move through that," said Frazer. "I think the value of doing this is indescribable."