A key takeaway from my experience at Suitcase Sunday was the sense of community. Throughout the summer we have talked about the strength of the connections among formerly incarcerated people and I got a sense of it in talking to service, business, and nonprofit leaders on the phone ahead of the event. It wasn’t until the event itself that I really understood how strong this community was.

In the morning, I was helping Roger, a representative from NYC CAIC, find his table. Just walking across the length of the park he was stopped by or stopped to talk to several other nonprofit organizers and business leaders who recognized him from previous events or campaigns. It was clear with each person he greeted that there was a sense of friendship, community, and support among them. Not only that, but there was a strong sense of community and shared struggle among everyone at the event, whether they had previously known eachother or were meeting for the first time.

As I met people and introduced myself as an intern at WITNESS, I was in awe of how welcoming and kind everyone was. Everyone I met was eager to share the work they were doing and to ask about what I had learned working with Evie. Marion in particular was incredibly kind and had each intern write a note to be given to a newly released woman along with the beautiful tote bags she gives to newly released women. In the few minutes that we talked, it was clear the compassion and strength she has and the dedication she has to helping her community.

When I introduced myself to Ceyenne, who I had previously spoken on the phone with, she came around the table to give me a hug. She spoke passionately about the work she was doing, both on stage and in one-on-one conversations. I thought the stage was an incredibly powerful focal point for the event. For me, Cayenne and H.O.L.L.A. were incredibly memorable speakers. Both spoke with passion and energy about the urgency and importance of this work and this event. The experience was truly one of a kind and I am grateful to have been even a small part of the day.

Suitcase Sunday was an experience like no other. Having worked at Witness for the summer, I’d come a long way already in terms of understanding mass incarceration and its impact on everyone it touches. Listening to interviews with formerly incarcerated people gave me a better understanding than a classroom ever could. Suitcase Sunday brought me a step even further than that. Getting to meet all the people that I’d been reading and writing about all summer was inspiring. I got a glimpse into a community of individuals that were driven not just to succeed themselves, but to help others like them succeed too.

Marion Rodriguez, who makes tote bags to give to people when they come out of prison, gave each of the interns a card and told us to write a message. These cards would be inside the bags given to newly released people, and were meant to be encouraging and inspiring. Seeing Marion’s passion for making reentry a little bit easier for people made it simple to write the card, because I could just draw on the courage and inspiration that Marion radiated. Suitcase Sunday was the coming together of a welcoming and complex community that has loads of stories to tell and changes to make. I felt honored to be given the privilege of helping to tell their stories and maybe help make more formerly incarcerated people feel a little bit less alone.

Working at Suitcase Sunday was an enjoyable, educational experience for me. As I introduced myself to the different participants and learned about their businesses and backstories, I was inspired by their resilience and hard work. Despite the many challenges that formerly incarcerated people face, they did not give up on building great lives for themselves and their families. Many of the attendees even give back to their community, like Marion from MUVSU, who gives one-of-a-kind bags to women leaving prison. Marion also gave us the opportunity to write letters to these women to let them know that we were rooting for them. Marion and the other formerly incarcerated business owners at Suitcase Sunday showed me the power of perseverance and how we should never forget where we came from.