Philip Cooper chosen by TIME Magazine as one of 25 Black leaders working to end the racial equity gap in 2025

“Philip Cooper [Leading with Conviction 2022] does some outreach, but what he really prefers to do is inreach. Cooper, founder of the Asheville, N.C.-based nonprofit Operation Gateway, says the best time to help men who are finding their way after incarceration is while they are still inside. His organization uses the prison communication system to contact people before they are released, to assess their situation and offer assistance. ‘If you wait to serve them when they get out, you fail them,’ says Cooper, whose title is chief change agent. ‘Because they’re scrambling, trying to figure it all out.’

If you wait to serve them when they get out, you fail them.

“Cooper, 50, a native of western North Carolina, has developed a small but intensive program that connects men who are leaving prison with a suite of services and groups that enable them to get back on their feet. Operation Gateway can help them secure a place to live, obtain a copy of their Social Security card and birth certificate, get food, or even do the deeper work of dealing with mental-health challenges, including addictions. And it connects them to job training and potential employers. ‘It’s kind of like being a quarterback,’ says Cooper, of the complexity of moves he makes to help people stay out of prison. ‘You can get a job, but if you don’t take care of your mental health, you won’t keep the job. You can get housing, but if you can’t get a job, you can’t pay for your house.’

“While the rate of incarceration among Black men in America has been dropping since the early 2000s, it’s one of the most stubborn and troubling characteristics of American society. A 2023 study found that if current trends continue, one in five Black men born in 2001 will be imprisoned at some point in their lives (as opposed to one in 25 white men). The vast majority of them will be released, many with no skills or preparation for a post-prison life. Studies find that about 45% of men released from prison will be arrested again within a year. While Cooper’s program has been around for only two years, it seems to be working. He estimates that just three of the 103 men he’s working with have re-offended.

“Part of Cooper’s secret sauce is that he and much of his team have been through the process.”

Read the full story at TIME.com.