Established by Governor Roy Cooper in June 2020, Public Safety Secretary Eddie Buffaloe Jr. and NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls are leading the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC), which consists of twenty-four members from a wide range of backgrounds.
The Task Force’s work focuses on addressing existing policies and procedures that disproportionately affect communities of color and developing solutions to ensure racial equity in North Carolina’s criminal justice system.
Systems change for better public safety. LEAD enhances safety, health, and equity by building a community-based alternative to jail and prosecution for people whose unlawful behavior stems from unmet needs related to substance use, mental health challenges, or extreme poverty. It’s become widely accepted that we can’t arrest our way out of the problems related to substance use, mental illness, or extreme poverty. But the crime and harms that can stem from these challenges must not be ignored or minimized. The LEAD model offers communities a better approach to safety and equity. LEAD enhances public safety, health, and equity by building new systems to divert people with unmet needs related to behavioral health or extreme poverty into non-punitive, collaborative, community-based systems of response and care.
WHAT MAKES LEAD DIFFERENT
- LEAD is not a program – it increases public safety by creating a new system of collective response.
- LEAD is not a short-term crisis response – it offers ongoing case coordination.
- LEAD isn’t operated by the courts – it’s a community-based collaborative.
- LEAD’s commitment to harm reduction doesn’t mandate treatment or recovery.
- LEAD serves one specific population – people whose frequent unlawful or problematic conduct stems from unmet behavioral health needs.
- LEAD case management isn’t office-based – it meets people where they’re at.
Restoring Opportunities. Strengthening Families & Communities. The NC Second Chance Alliance is a statewide alliance of people with criminal records, their family members, service providers, congregations, community leaders and concerned citizens that have come together to address the causes of criminal records and the barriers they create to successful reentry. Mass incarceration, Racial Disparities, Parental Incarceration, Collateral Consequences and Recidivism,
What is clear to members of the NC Second Chance Alliance is that the current system of incarceration and re-incarceration is not working. Our state’s unfair, revolving-door criminal justice system is undermining the safety of our communities, draining our state’s resources, and failing people with criminal records, especially people of color. We have come together to identify and speak out in support of fair chance practices, policies, and laws that ensure people exiting the criminal justice system have a fair chance to be prosperous, law-abiding community members rather than being automatically excluded from essential opportunities and cycled back into the criminal justice system.
DANIELB@NCJUSTICE.ORG.
The Alliance is a regional 501(c)3 nonprofit agency serving the seven far western counties of North Carolina (Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Graham, Clay and Cherokee). We work collaboratively with the local domestic violence-sexual assault programs, area agencies and the criminal justice system to provide outreach, advocacy, mental health, and training services to empower survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Mission: The Alliance works collaboratively with individuals and organizations to build capacity and specialized services in far Western North Carolina to serve victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Vision: The Alliance aspires to meet the evolving needs of our community to end domestic violence and sexual assault.
Our direct services and training are intended to “fill in the gaps” across a network of long-standing and respected programs in the region. We specialize to reach those who are typically underserved and disproportionately impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault including: Older adults, Veterans, Persons with disabilities, Immigrants, and children exposed to violence. You may also refer Spanish-speaking clients directly to our bilingual line at 828-550-3383.
*Please note our physical address is confidential and shared only with active clients and community partners. If you are referring a new client to us, please call to schedule an appointment.
We Care. Let's Connect.
Provides information and referrals to alcohol and drug treatment. They also provide educational programs and materials to businesses, community groups, families, and individuals. To be the entity in NC that ensures access to quality, relevant, respectful SUD care. We strive to ensure every person in NC needing substance use disorder treatment receives it. We help people overcome substance use and mental health disorders. We seek to eliminate stigma. We embrace all pathways to recovery and healing with dignity and respect for everyone. For more information contact: info@alcoholdrughelp.org.
We connect. We educate. We advocate.