He gives recently incarcerated people support and free rides home because he was once in their shoes
Meeting at the Door has helped over 70 people in the past two years.
When Freddie Nole offers help to men walking out the prison doors, he carries the credibility of someone who’s lived it.
That’s because Nole spent 49 years inside.
He was just 17 when he robbed a South Philly candy store with two other teens. Prosecutors said Nole pushed a gun into the store owner’s abdomen, which led to his death shortly following the robbery.
Nole was prosecuted as an adult and sentenced to life in prison.
He was released in 2019, years after the Supreme Court ruled mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors were unconstitutional.
Even with a support network, Nole found it hard to readjust. Five years later, he is unemployed and has been consistently rejected for jobs he feels qualified for, like dishwashing and maintenance work.
“It’s a combination of probably age … and the fact of my conviction, even though it’s over 55, 56 years old now,” said Nole.
Searching for purpose, Nole turned to Yokefellowship, a prison ministry he had been involved with since well before his release. When COVID-19 restrictions prevented the group from sending volunteers inside the prisons, Nole came up with the idea of Meeting at the Door.
The concept was simple: Take care of the most immediate needs for people released from prison who didn’t have a strong support system. That meant a ride to where the person would be staying, a meal, a phone and some clothes. Along the way, Nole hoped he could offer resources and advice on how to navigate life after prison.
“The psychological imprint that’s left upon you in prison is that everything is no,” said Nole. “That’s trauma. And it’s never dealt with because prison isn’t designed to really help you make it once you’re out of prison.”
Nole wanted to counter that mindset by immediately showing those released from prison that there were people on the outside who cared about their well-being, and could help them readjust.
But he didn’t drive or have the funds to pay for the services he wanted Meeting at the Door to provide. He contacted everyone he knew, asking if they could help out with the resources his budding idea would need to succeed. It worked.
The program has provided rides to about 60 formerly incarcerated men across Pennsylvania since 2022 when it launched, Nole said. They accept anyone who reaches out from prison to ask for help. Nole accompanies the program’s drivers to most of the pickups, welcoming people home from prison, listening to their plans and giving occasional advice.
“They come from environments where everything is conditional,” Nole said. “We just don’t want guys to feel as though this service is going to require them to do anything other than show up.”