Hand up, not handout: Durham nonprofit gets new funding stream to help formerly incarcerated men

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Jubilee Home has helped reintroduce formerly incarcerated men back into society for the last three years. It has a mission of changing lives.

"It's like they're telling you, we're not going to let you walk alone," said Ed Chapman, who a current resident of the Jubilee Home. "They've helped me with my I.D. They helped me rediscover myself, where I want to go when I leave here."

He spent 15 years in prison and was exonerated after being on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Today, Chapman is a working man and has the Jubilee Home to thank for putting a roof over his head.

"Once you re-enter the community, how do we support you staying here in the community and not returning back to incarceration," said Leticia Thomas, director of programs and wellness.

The home has all the amenities needed including three bedrooms and a community garden. New state funding is helping move the mission of this nonprofit and others like it across the state forward. They'd like to one day expand and serve women.

"It's allowing us to ensure that our residents have a safe place to stay. It ensures our staff is well trained and prepared to do the work and have access and relationships with people in the community that support our residents," she said.

In the meantime, life is good for Chapman who proudly told ABC11 he's one year sober. He's already lived there for five months and is beyond grateful for the resources he's gotten along the way.

"They don't give you a hand out. They give you a hand up," he said.