By Kendall Southworth  June 8, 2026

Last month, community leaders, landlords, lawyers and curious citizens found themselves scrambling before police officers and representatives from the Florida Department of Corrections, frantically digging through paperwork for identification, waiting in long lines to give blood, racing between churches and grocery stores and even stealing money from one another (monopoly money, that is).

The chaos intentional—and part of Project 180’s Reentry Simulation, an immersive exercise designed to compress the overwhelming first weeks after an individual’s release from prison into a single disorienting hour. Hosted by the Sarasota-based nonprofit, which focuses on helping formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into community life, the exercise assigned participants new identities and limited resources before sending them through a maze of responsibilities, institutions and unexpected setbacks individuals must confront immediately upon reentering society.

The simulation reflects what advocates often describe as a “stacked burden”: not one obstacle, but many, arriving all at once, with each challenge dependent on successfully navigating the last. A missed appointment with a caseworker can mean losing eligibility for food stamps and other forms of assistance. A delayed paycheck can jeopardize housing. A lack of transportation can unravel both.

Each year, more than 30,000 people are released from Florida prisons and return to communities across the state. Many hope to become productive, law-abiding citizens but face significant barriers, including limited job skills, gaps in education and discrimination in housing and employment because of their criminal records.

Without support, many become statistics—the homeless, the unemployed, the undereducated and the impoverished. More than 76 percent are rearrested within five years, perpetuating cycles of victimization and straining community resources. Reducing those barriers is central to Project 180’s mission of decreasing poverty, homelessness and unemployment among formerly incarcerated individuals while improving public safety.

For Michelle Ace, an assistant public defender who participated in the simulation, the experience underscored how easily good intentions can be derailed by systemic barriers.

“It’s really frustrating when people are trying and the world comes down on them,” she says. “It’s easy to judge or be afraid of someone if you don’t understand them, but we have to have some graciousness and sympathy.”

Ron Solorzano, an Army veteran—known as “Uncle Ron” to the Project 180 folks—was grateful for the simulation, but didn’t want to participate. He already did, in real life, when he reentered society after serving twenty years in prison.

“When I got out, I was scared. I had no money,” he says. “I had lost everything. When I got out, they gave me $50, and that was that. I was working while I was incarcerated as part of the ‘farm squad’, farming produce for prisons all over, but there was nothing to report as earnings for Social Security. I had to start all over again.”

Project 180’s model combines recovery support with practical assistance such as food, clothing and transportation, introductions to employers, leadership training, volunteer opportunities and a new, law-abiding social network. With that support, Ron rebuilt his life. Today, he serves as a source of wisdom, accountability and stability for younger men navigating the same transition.

And Project 180 is working to extend its model to more people. Under the leadership of new president and CEO Antonia Rolle, the nonprofit is preparing to open its first residential program for women, aiming to replicate their reentry model while addressing the unique challenges women face when returning home and rebuilding their lives.

“This is the kind of thing that needs to get out more to the general public,” says Kruse, “and equally—or moreso—to the elected officials who have a say in it.”

Community Leaders Experience Life After Lockup Simulation | Sarasota Magazine

Sarasota, FL. Project 180, a prisoner reentry nonprofit headquartered in Sarasota, is pleased to announce the appointment of Antonia ‘Toni’ Rolle as President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Ms. Rolle began her tenure on August 4, 2025.

“We are thrilled to welcome Toni as Project 180’s new leader,” said David Shuel, Board Chair. “She brings a team-building focus, collaborative management style, and in-depth knowledge of data integrity and scalability. Her technical skills and her passion for the welfare of our residents and program participants are an ideal combination to pursue and expand Project 180’s mission of reintegrating formerly incarcerated citizens into community life.”

Toni comes to Project 180 from our partner, Goodwill Manasota. As Director of Mission Services there, she gained years of both corporate and hands-on experience serving vulnerable populations. While managing the Good Partner Coach Program, Toni developed partnerships on both Florida coasts with employers willing to hire, among others, individuals with criminal backgrounds who had little conventional job experience and hailed from families that had experienced multi-generational poverty, a perfect fit for Project 180.

Toni is proud of her history of working with people from diverse backgrounds. She writes, “I see myself as a bridge between those making decisions and those about whom decisions are made; bringing each group to the fulcrum where understanding and collaboration happen is exciting and inspiring. I’m excited to utilize those skills to continue Project 180’s tradition of being a bridge of understanding between those who have and those who have never been incarcerated.”

“Growing up and in my professional life, there has always been someone who saw more in me than I could see in myself. I want to be that person for Project 180 residents and participants to help them optimize their potential. They have so much to offer our community.”

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:

Antonia Rolle, President and CEO

Project 180

antonia@project180reentry.org

Phone: 941-780-5227

About Project 180:

Project 180 is a Sarasota-based prisoner reentry nonprofit that helps men and women succeed during the difficult transition from prison or jail back into the community. By helping people rebuild their lives and become productive citizens the organization also helps the community at large. Since 2018, its Residential Program alone has prevented over 92,000 crimes. Project 180 is the recipient of the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency’s 2024 Reentry Award and the subject of a documentary film, “The Light They Cast.”

Published: 10/6/2025

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Hank spent more than ten years in a wide range of environmental law enforcement, supervisory natural resource protection, emergency hazardous waste contingency response and white-collar crime investigation with the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service and the United States Secret Service.

Hank received his:

• Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a concentration in Natural Resources Law Enforcement
• a Masters in Criminal Justice Administration from Boston University
• a Master of Arts in Holistic Counseling and a Master of Arts in Holistic Leadership from Salve Regina University
• two certificates of advanced graduate study in Holistic Counseling and Holistic Leadership
• two certificates of advanced graduate study in Counseling
• a Doctorate in Educational Administration & Leadership from Seton Hall University

He is a graduate of

• the Assisi Institute’s Two-Year Archetypal Pattern Analyst Program
• and Air University, Air Command and Staff College

In addition, Dr. Brightman is

• certified clinical hypnotherapist
• certified clinical trauma professional
• and certified personal trainer through the Aerobics & Fitness Association of America

Hank is currently a full professor and Acting Director of the Civilian-Military Humanitarian Response Program within the College of Maritime Operational at the United States Naval War College. He also serves as the distinguished EMC Informationist Chair (an eight-year, endowed appointment). From 2008-2016, he served as an Associate Professor, Professor, and Director of Applied Research & Analysis in the War Gaming Department of this institution.

From 2000-2008, he served as a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Saint Peter’s University, and also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Salve Regina University, Saint Peter’s University, and Utica College, where he teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate-level courses in Criminology and research methods.

In his Navy Reserve career, Commander (CDR) Heath “Hank” Brightman serves as Commanding Officer of Navy Reserve, Cryptologic Warfare Group in Massachusetts. A fully qualified Navy Reserve Cryptologic Warfare Officer, CDR Brightman’s most recent active duty mobilization was from March 2018 through February 2019, assigned to the Office of Military Commissions, Military Commissions Defense Organization (Washington DC/Guantanamo Bay, Cuba). In this capacity, he served as the Senior Intelligence Investigator on a 9/11 high-value detainee case team.

For the past seven years, Dr. Brightman has maintained a part-time, private trauma and wellness practice in Newport, Rhode Island, focused on applying a variety of holistic techniques to support client recovery. His primary approach combines Jungian, Gestalt, narrative, and expressive therapies with clinical hypnotherapy, physical fitness, and nutrition.