COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER
Haki Sekou is a formerly incarcerated human being. He spent 41 years, 7 months, and 10 days at Angola Louisiana State Penitentiary. Like countless others, Sekou found incarceration to be a traumatic experience not only for himself but for his family members and close friends. On July 25, 2018, he was released from Angola into a transitional housing unit run by VOTE's partner organization, The First 72+. Filled with excitement and high expectations, he couldn’t wait to fly.
Sekou hit the ground running, trying to find employment and housing. Because he had finished his time, he expected equal opportunity, but what he encountered made him realize that his expectations for of reentry and its reality were not the same. Legal discrimination by business owners and landlords turned his excitement and expectations into concerns and confusion. A lack of stable housing, employment, and social support filled him with doubt and despair, as well as stress and depression. He encountered illogical rules enforced by housing authorities such as needing to be home for at least two years before one can be approved for a decent place to live.
Knowing that such rules and legal oppression is defeats the purpose of reentry, Sekou starting organizing with the FIP Peer Support group and VOTE. Now he joins our team as a Community Health Worker, advocating for the medical rights of people with convictions. Read more about his hopes and visions here.
Sekou hit the ground running, trying to find employment and housing. Because he had finished his time, he expected equal opportunity, but what he encountered made him realize that his expectations for of reentry and its reality were not the same. Legal discrimination by business owners and landlords turned his excitement and expectations into concerns and confusion. A lack of stable housing, employment, and social support filled him with doubt and despair, as well as stress and depression. He encountered illogical rules enforced by housing authorities such as needing to be home for at least two years before one can be approved for a decent place to live.
Knowing that such rules and legal oppression is defeats the purpose of reentry, Sekou starting organizing with the FIP Peer Support group and VOTE. Now he joins our team as a Community Health Worker, advocating for the medical rights of people with convictions. Read more about his hopes and visions here.
