By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Prince George’s County opened its second reentry hub on March 31, expanding support for returning citizens as they transition back into the community. The new hub, located at the Laurel Multiservice Center in Laurel, Md., connects formerly incarcerated county residents to critical health, employment and educational services.
The National Institute of Justice reports that roughly 95 percent of incarcerated adults will return to their communities. Through its reentry hubs, Prince George’s County aims to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism by ensuring returning citizens have a safety net while they reintegrate.
“I’ve come across many men and women who are released without family support or anything like that. It becomes hard on the individual because they don’t have that stability or network,” said Alonzo Turner-Bey, director of the Prince George’s County Returning Citizens Affairs Division (RCAD). “That’s why we’re here. We have certified peer recovery specialists, which are men and women with lived experience of coming through the criminal justice system. We have therapists, psychologists and counselors to provide the wraparound services you need.”
A formerly incarcerated individual himself, Turner-Bey said he’s able to relate to the people who come through the county’s reentry hubs. At 17, Turner-Bey was sentenced as an adult to life in prison for the 1989 murder of another Prince George’s County man. He served 31 years, six months and 16 days before being granted parole by former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in 2020.
Attorneys from the University of Maryland and University of Baltimore law schools fought for his freedom, arguing that Turner-Bey had reformed himself while inside. They also secured support from then-Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
Braveboy, who became county executive in 2025, later appointed Turner-Bey to head RCAD.
The county’s reentry hubs support returning citizens in securing health coverage, transitional housing, food assistance, therapy, family reunification services, trade career training and employment opportunities. The only restriction is that returning citizens must be residents of Prince George’s County.
“Some people who have been home for four or five years may still be unemployed or may have fallen on hard times after incarceration, we still work to provide services to help them become productive members of our community,” said Turner-Bey. “The county executive does not refer to the men and women as returning citizens, she refers to them as her constituents. Being that they are her constituents, she wants to make sure they have the services needed to get their lives back on track and to contribute to our community.”
One formerly incarcerated individual, Boswell Dennis, said the county’s reentry hubs have helped him to stay focused. He received support at the county’s first reentry hub, which is housed in the Bridge Center at Adam’s House. Before leading RCAD, Turner-Bey served as a peer recovery specialist there.
“Alonzo Turner-Bey has been and still is instrumental to a lot of the stuff I’ve accomplished. He’s one of the most unselfish people I’ve ever known,” said Dennis. “He’s helped a lot of us with food stamps, education, work, housing—anything he could possibly do, he’s helped us.”
For Dennis, the county’s expansion of reentry hubs signifies one thing: a meaningful commitment to supporting returning citizens.
“They care,” said Dennis. “That’s a motivating factor to a lot of people when they see that the people supporting them are genuine in their efforts to help them reestablish themselves in society.”
