New London — The Prison Ministry of the Shiloh Baptist Church will hold its sixth annual Community Prison Awareness and Prevention Gathering on Oct. 29 on the theme of embracing returning citizens and those transitioning in a second-chance society.

A key objective of this event is to bring the community together to showcase services, including housing, employment and treatment, that address the basic needs of returning and transitioning citizens, according to an event flier.

The event also will focus on tips to navigate through barriers in the system to have access to services and support, as well as to prevent crime by networking with community stakeholders to strengthen the community and empower young people.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Shiloh Family Life Center, 3 Garvin St. Doors will open at 8 a.m. for registration.

There will be workshops in the morning for all ages and a panel discussion in the afternoon, as well as networking, handouts and information from service providers, and light refreshments.

Those who should attend include people interested in addressing offender and ex-offender issues, social workers, youth and youth leaders, community advocates, representatives from community and state agencies, employers, religious leaders, housing representatives and the news media, according to the event flier.

Admission is free but preregistration is required. Contact Winston Taylor at (860) 889-3292, winston_taylor@sbcglobal.net or www.brotherwinston.com; or the Shiloh Baptist Church at (860) 443-6046.

Bishop Benjamin K. Watts is the senior pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church.