Ex-Inmate Buys Abandoned Prison To Build A Place For 2nd Chances
Former inmate Kerwin Pittman is making history. The activist and social justice advocate became the first formerly incarcerated person in U.S. history to purchase a prison, which he plans to turn into a transitional housing and workforce development facility called the Recidivism Reduction Campus.
According to Spectrum News, the Wayne County Correctional Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina, closed in 2013 and had sat vacant for more than a decade before Pittman purchased the 19-acre campus in late 2025. He now plans to transform the former prison into a transitional housing and workforce development hub for people recently released from incarceration, called the Recidivism Reduction Campus.
Pittman, who was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, bought the prison for $275,000, according to the News & Observer.
What will the campus provide?
The campus will house between 200 and 250 men at a time for six-month stays. During that period, residents will receive support designed to help them successfully reintegrate into society, including civic engagement training, life skills and leadership development, educational opportunities, trauma-informed care and mental health support, as well as peer support and case management, according to the outlet and the Recidivism Reduction Campus website.
Pittman, who is also the founder and executive director of the Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services, a nonprofit dedicated to providing critical reentry support to justice-involved and justice-impacted individuals, said the program will also feature two tracks aimed at helping residents rebuild stable lives and earn sustainable incomes after leaving the campus.
The first track will be an educational vocational program focused on industry certifications.
“HVAC, brick masonry, welding, plumbing, different things that will be able to not only make a surviving wage, but when a wage you’ll be able to thrive off of,” Pittman said.
The second track will focus on workforce development, including partnerships with second-chance employers in the region who are willing to hire individuals with criminal records. Pittman said the surrounding community has been largely supportive of the project and the renovations underway.
His organization will also work to help residents secure affordable housing once their time on the campus ends.
“It is a one-stop-shop. So not only are we going to help you get employability skills up, we’re going to help you if you may be suffering some type of behavior, health issues, small behavioral health issues,” Pittman said. “As well as you have a roof over your head, you have food, you have a community of people who are going through some of the things your going through, and those who have successfully reintegrated and those who are trying to reintegrate just like them.”
Kerwin Pittman spent 11 and a half years in jail before his release.
Pittman’s vision for the campus is deeply personal. He spent 11 and a half years incarcerated himself, including more than a year in solitary confinement, an experience that ultimately inspired him to start his nonprofit and launch the Recidivism Reduction Campus.
“The needs of someone coming out of incarceration are steep,” Pittman said in a video shared by the News & Observer on March 2 on Instagram. He added that while he was fortunate to have a support system when he reentered society, many others do not.
“A lot of the support that individuals don’t have I had, but a lot of my friends didn’t have. And so this mission hits near and dear to my heart. Because I want to see everybody coming out of the criminal justice system … I want to see them be able to not only survive—I want to see them thrive.”
Pittman described the project as his life’s “mission.”
When will the Recidivism Reduction Campus open?
Renovations for the campus will take place in two phases. The first phase will focus on beautifying the grounds and renovating some buildings while simultaneously welcoming a small number of residents and launching the program’s initial courses. The second phase will continue renovations across the remaining buildings once the first stage is completed.
Plans for the site also include building a museum that will commemorate the facility’s history. The first resident is expected to move onto the campus in 2028.
As renovations progress, former prison cells, communal living areas and office spaces will be transformed into private bedrooms, bathrooms, classrooms and other supportive spaces.
“It is extremely important for somebody transitioning out [of incarceration] to have their own room and space. Because not only does it give them a sense of autonomy and responsibility, but most importantly, it begins to reintegrate them back into society to feel more of a human being,” Pittman said.
He also acknowledged that certain areas of the facility — particularly solitary confinement units — can be triggering for him and other formerly incarcerated individuals. Through the redesign, Pittman said the goal is to create an environment that feels more like a college campus than a prison.
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