KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A former prisoner who struggled upon release but eventually built a multi-million dollar company celebrated the groundbreaking of a home for newly released inmates on Friday. Josh Smith envisioned the project and is investing $3.8 million to convert Knoxville’s historic Dogan-Gaither Motor Court into 16 one-bedroom apartments, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Speaking at the groundbreaking, Smith shared what it was like to reenter society after prison, from begging to get a minimum wage job to struggling to find a landlord who would rent to him and his family.
“Those consequences hold so many back from ever really being able to see or experience any true success in life,” Smith said.
Ex-offenders will live at Dogan-Gaither Flats for at least one year and participate in counseling, work placement, skills training and housing consultation. Nashville-based prison ministry Men of Valor will lease the building and manage the programming. It owns and operates a similar 90-person facility in Middle Tennessee.
“We’re not going to have a fence or gates or things like that,” Smith said. “These people are already our neighbors. And so I hope that it feels like home to them and it gives them a comfortable transition.”
Smith, who started the criminal justice reform group Fourth Purpose Foundation, said a safe and supportive housing situation is also a way to reduce the state’s recidivism rate. The Tennessee Criminal Justice Investment Task Force reports that 47% of individuals released from custody for felony sentences are arrested again within three years. Men of Valor reports the recidivism rate at its facility is less than 10%.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was among those present at the groundbreaking. He has worked with Men of Valor for 20 years and said that experience helped him understand the difference it makes when someone leaving prison has support and resources.
“The way we create an environment for them to reenter will determine the safety of our communities,” Lee said.
Smith, who received a pardon from former President Donald Trump in January, purchased the Dogan-Gaither Flats property in 2020 for $500,000. The redevelopment will take about a year to complete. The city is contributing $480,000 to the project from its Affordable Rental Development fund.
“The support that people receive in conjunction with this housing will bring them back into the community to work jobs, to support their families, to join churches and neighborhood groups, to vote and to fully exercise their rights as citizens,” Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said. “To serve as positive role models to their children and others.”
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