Danielle Metz

Community Health Worker

Danielle Metz was born in uptown New Orleans. She was incarcerated for 23 years on a triple life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. In August 2016, her conviction was commuted by President Obama as part of his clemency initiative to address unfair sentencing practices that began during the War on Drugs era. Since her release, Danielle has re-engaged her community as the Community Health Worker for the Formerly Incarcerated Transitions (FIT) Clinic. The clinic offers Medicaid enrollment, screening for medical illnesses, job referrals, and motivation and moral support for people coming home.

When she's not busy serving people at the clinic, Danielle travels through the nation sharing her story at events and universities. She was given the Joseph Massenburg Role Model of the Year Award for her volunteerism and mentorship. Danielle knows that addressing the health issues of formerly incarcerated people is crucial to decreasing recidivism and creating true criminal justice reform. She's dedicated to giving a voice to those on the inside who are rarely ever heard and mostly forgotten. She vows to sit in on their behalf until they are free. "Until we shed some light on the grave injustices that plague our America, we’re all in prison!" she says. "Prison is a state of mind first and foremost."

In her role with VOTE, Danielle's goal is to make sure every person coming home gets access to adequate health care: something they were deprived of while incarcerated.