After decades in prison, Georgia man helps others navigate life after release – CBS News

After decades in prison, Georgia man helps others navigate life after release  CBS News

A Clayton County commissioner spent Monday night listening to formerly incarcerated people talk about what is keeping them from a fresh start."We're coming home and doing the right thing," said Genesis Asiatic, who works with The Life Unit Prison Help & Support Services.Commissioner Tashé Allen partnered with Barred Business for a volunteer membership meeting and listening session Monday night in Jonesboro. Organizers invited formerly incarcerated people, their families and community advocates to share their experiences, challenges and ideas.Barred Business is a membership-based organization that helps formerly incarcerated people. The group said probation, fines, fees and job restrictions hold many people back after they return home.The group also runs STABLE, a program that helps formerly incarcerated Black women with housing, leadership and financial stability.

More than 213 women have completed the program, according to Barred Business.Asiatic said he spent more than two decades in a Virginia prison. He entered at age 23, unable to read, and went on to earn his GED and become a tutor.He said he grew up with his mother and grandmother and was looking for a male role model."But unfortunately, the ones I saw … actually in the streets and a lot of times I think that's what young men are looking for," Asiatic said.One moment in prison still stays with him. Asiatic said he shared a