Submitted online via regulations.gov with research conducted by the Fines & Fees Justice Center For more information about the proposed amendment, click here. RE Inmate Financial Responsibility Program: Procedures Benevolence Farm writes to offer comments on the Bureau of …
Weekly Updates
As pandemic-era SNAP benefits ends, thousands more left out entirely
By: Kristen Powers, Executive Director On March 1, families across North Carolina will lose out on additional supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP) made available during the height of the pandemic. As North Carolinians struggle to adjust to this loss at a time of intense inflation and rising …
November is too late to build electoral power
Republished with permission from the author. In the U.S. South, race is one of the most significant hurdles to our social political progress. Racialized geographies haunt our daily interactions. They are infused into our collective memory banks, dictating much of the ways we show up in our …
Remembering Deb Ainsworth
Deb Ainsworth (1956 - 2023)Deb Ainsworth arrived at The Farm in December 2018 after 27 years of incarceration. The first resident she met upon her arrival was Lady, our original Farm Dog. Just a few weeks later, it snowed. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Deb was the first person to walk …
Meet the Dream Team: Katie
The Dream Team Series highlights the amazing work of each of our staff members. Over the past few weeks, we've highlighted each team member on different platforms and mediums. Today, we'd like to introduce you to Katie Anderson, Second Chance Alamance Project Manager How did you come to know …
Eight Days of Oil
Hanukkah is a celebration of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebel warriors, who fought to recover Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The Temple was purified and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days, even though there was only enough sacred oil for one day's lighting. The …
Soap Box Series: SNAP and TANF Bans
**The Benevolence Farm Soap Box Series is a space for us to elevate the thorny, complicated, and frustrating barriers current and formerly incarcerated people face in North Carolina and the United States. It is our hope that elevating these topics will raise awareness and lead to systemic …
Introducing Roots of Success
Benevolence Farm is always looking for new ways to achieve its mission of cultivating leadership, promoting sustainable livelihoods, and reaping structural change with individuals impacted by the criminal legal system in North Carolina. That’s why we have begun a new environmental education and job …
Benevolence Farm Opens a Second Home
You already know we’re all about second chances. Now, we’re opening a second location to offer more of those chances to formerly incarcerated women in rural communities. That’s right! We’ve opened up a combined office and house in Burlington, North Carolina. This house will double our capacity to …
#FreetheMail
There’s no doubt that email and text messages have phased out handwritten letters in our everyday lives. However, for those who are incarcerated, physical mail can be a lifeline. In October of 2021, North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) started to outsource mail processing services to …
Freedom looks good on you, girl
Today is a special day at the Farm. We had the privilege and honor of welcoming home our 32nd resident, as documented in the video above. Our Welcome Home experience at Benevolence Farm is a dignified and beautiful process informed by residents who have come before. Every resident …
Katie
Women are strong. Women are brave. Women are fighters. In today’s society, women are marginalized for their identities and face many consequences because of it. In the spirit of Second Chance Month, I want to focus on what second chances look like and how women in these circumstances define …