Two blocks from the North Carolina Capitol, a dozen women are sitting on couches in a circle. Unmarked, with dark windows and fluorescent lights overhead, the upstairs room of Raleigh\u2019s First Presbyterian Church smells musty and damp. Alice Noell\u2019s Job Start program is in session, and the women are here to make sense of their lives.<\/p>\n
The women currently live in the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women, which they leave five days a week to attend Noell\u2019s 15-week course. Noell\u201d\u201dan energetic and passionate teacher\u201d\u201disn\u2019t speaking right now. Instead, she\u2019s invited one of her former students to address a captive audience.<\/p>\n
All of the women, equal numbers black and white, lean in as Miea Walker walks in, waves, and finds the recliner in the center of the circle. Walker, 45, was released from prison in March 2012, a date still fresh enough for her to drop the names of wardens and guards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it feels like,\u201d\u009d she says. \u201cYou feel like you can\u2019t breathe. You\u2019re in a box all day long.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n