Amy Barch 
Sometimes rough childhoods lead people to criminal acts. Sometimes a lack of family, support, safe housing and warm clothes leads to heartache. Not always though. Sometimes it’s the lure of a life lived in the “extra” lane that sets you on a rollercoaster that has the highest highs you can imagine…but also the lowest lows. … Read more
Through the past weeks here on the Turning Leaf page, we’ve talked to a number of our current students. We’ve learned what causes young men to take the path toward crime, and we’ve talked about the many tragedies encountered in the lifestyle. But what does life look like for a Turning Leaf graduate? How does … Read more
What’s in a name? Shakespeare wrote about the importance of names in Romeo and Juliet, a tragic story in which names kept two young lovers from ever being together. But can a name have such importance in contemporary society? It can, when it’s a name a beloved grandfather proudly passed down to one of his … Read more
To an untrained eye, it’s easy to think that Turning Leaf is just like any other reentry organization. But we’re not. Okay, you might be thinking, “Sure, every nonprofit thinks they’re special.” That’s probably true, but seriously, we really are. I can prove it. I officially started out my career in reentry as a case … Read more
An audience at the Mount Pleasant library listens silently as three men calmly talk about violence, the crimes they’ve committed, the drugs they’ve sold — and the reason they quit. She’s sitting in the front row. The men are students of Amy Barch’s Turning Leaf Project, a local nonprofit working to quell the epidemic of recidivism. … Read more
Getting out of prison isn’t easy. There’s parole and probation to navigate, child custody issues, securing housing, finding a job, and avoiding the temptation to fall back into criminal habits. That’s what drew Turning Leaf Project founder Amy Barch to reentry work—despite her middle-class upbringing, she understood why the less privileged would take whatever they … Read more
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The Turning Leaf Project is a group in Charleston working to help formerly incarcerated men complete probation and get acclimated back into society. Aulzue Fields spent the last 17 years in prison. He took someone else’s life in the Lowcountry when he was 26 years old. “I was using a lot of … Read more
Growing up in public housing in North Charleston, S.C., in the 1970s, David Hayward was familiar with poverty, violence and loss. His mother, grandmother and brother all died when he was young, and his father was in prison. He became addicted to alcohol and cocaine and occasionally lived under bridges and in abandoned buildings, he … Read more
