Meko Lincoln: The Lasting Cost of Incarceration

High Priority

Approximately one-fifth of incarcerated Americans are serving time for a drug-related charge. Even worse, Black Americans are six times more likely to be incarcerated for drug charges despite equal usage rates between Black and white Americans. For the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have served their time and are trying to rebuild their lives, the road ahead can be excessively cumbersome. In this episode, we speak to Meko Lincoln, a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Reentry Case Manager and Board Member at Amos House, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing to the unhoused and formerly incarcerated individuals battling substance abuse. Meko Lincoln’s account of coming up against professional licensing barriers as a formerly incarcerated individual made national headlines in 2019, and he continues to be an advocate for dignified reentry programs. Meko discusses what businesses, lawmakers and law enforcement must understand and do to tangibly address the lasting damage of drug-related incarceration.