NC FIT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER

Kelby Benjamin has a passion for reentry. Currently, he is working in a direct mentorship environment as the lead NC FIT Community Health Worker. Kelby has spent an extensive amount of time learning to navigate systems, so that he can better serve those coming back to his community. As an advocate and expert in the field of reentry, his approach is helping people learn how to help themselves. Kelby leans on his lived experience, allowing the people he has the opportunity of working with to build a working relationship founded in trust. He is looking forward to utilizing his role at Operation Gateway as a catalyst into working closely with organizations and the systems of incarceration to help bring people and resources together.

He feels strongly that working with people before being released or shortly after being released will reduce the amount of people that find themselves back in jail. As a Community Health Worker, Kelby meets people where they are and begins the community collaboration process. By working together, Change Agents create the safety net that allows people to transition back into society and start building their community of support to ensure an environment where they can begin to thrive, repair the past and plan for the future.