SALISBURY — Most people assume once someone gets out of prison, their troubles are over. In reality, it’s actually the opposite.

Even though there are programs and systems in place to help with the re-entry process, they can often do more harm than good.

This past week, Project Safe Neighborhoods held “A Mile in Their Shoes,” an event at the West End Plaza designed to show what people coming out of prison deal with on a regular basis. Employees of NCWorks, the city of Salisbury, Rowan County and S&H Youth and Adult Services all took part in the “offender re-entry simulation.”

The event included four, 15-minute segments that simulated a month of an ex-offender’s life, with each person playing a role of someone just released from prison. Everyone was given several tasks like getting identification, meeting with their parole officer, buying food and seeking substance abuse treatment.

Failure to do all of what was required meant they had to go to “jail.” Wednesday’s simulation purposefully made people feel annoyed and helpless to the point that they considered committing crimes in order to accomplish their assigned goals.

“It gives them an idea of what it’s like to be a person that’s returning home from incarceration and then having your nose thumbed at you by the individuals who are supposed to help, assist and guide you,” Lorenzo Debose, coordinator for Project Safe Neighborhoods, said. Afterwards, there was a job and resource fair for anyone to take advantage of several job openings and available community resources.

Lucy Ancheta from the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency was “homeless” during the simulation, meaning she had to have a chair with her at all times as if it were all of her possessions. Getting a taste of how the most well-intentioned person could falter in the system opened her eyes to what can be done to help.

“This was the first time I was able to experience how to be homeless. There’s this feeling of being more empathetic to other people in that kind of situation because of the challenges in their life,” Ancheta said.

For Terence Brown, the simulation gives people a chance to understand what he went through. In 2003, while attending Averett University on a football scholarship, Brown was arrested and sentenced to 16-20 years in prison. While serving time, he took several courses, but when he got out, he couldn’t use a Mac or a phone properly.

When he reached “rock bottom,” Brown thought of his family the most and persevered. He eventually got his own radio show, learned marketing and branding, and now runs his own businesses. Brown believes when it comes to succeeding, what a person has around them helps define it.

“Pass that same integrity, that same willingness to assist, pass that on to the next individual whether they’re still in, when they’re released, have that same showmanship…A lot of times, we let our pride get in the way and sometimes we have to just need to get out of our own way and say, ‘I need some assistance. I need some help. I need someone to be that supporting cast,'” Brown said.