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Who Came to the Table?
Pulling Up a Chair: What We Heard at Horizon's Big Table
On September 29, 2026, Horizon Prison Initiative gathered returned citizens, reentry coordinators, board members, former staff and faith partners around one table with one question: what can our community do to welcome people home?
The answer was honest. Horizon’s programming changes lives inside prison walls, but as one graduate put it, “the community is not ready for us.” The Big Table was a first step toward changing that.
Executive Director Renee Wormack-Keels welcomed guests alongside Board Chair Jim Burns and Board Secretary Mary Casey. Reentry coordinators Kamal (London Correctional Institution) and Andi (Ohio Reformatory for Women) brought the view from inside the facilities.
Former staff members Madeleine Trichel and Jo Dee Davis joined longtime Outside Brother Richard Korn. Dr. Karen Peeler and Chris Purdy came from Trinity Church’s Justice Advocacy Group, and Vicki Nichols represented North Broadway United Methodist Church. Most importantly, Horizon graduate Cliff Forney shared what coming home really looks like.
The numbers framed the conversation. About 20,000 people are released from Ohio prisons each year, and 95 percent of everyone incarcerated will one day return to the community. Horizon’s programs at ORW and London cost about $350,000 a year, while the state spends roughly $33,000 a year to hold a single person. Kamal shared that Horizon participants at both facilities have a combined recidivism rate of about 7 percent. As one participant said, “The money HPI saves the state is staggering.”
