North Carolina’s first lady takes on rehabilitation and reentry<h1>North Carolina’s first lady takes on rehabilitation and reentry</h1> <p class="byline">by Rachel Crumpler, North Carolina Health News <br />January 29, 2026</p> <br /> <h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-by-rachel-crumpler"><strong>By Rachel Crumpler</strong></h4> <p>More than 600 people gathered in Raleigh last April at the <a href="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/04/23/nc-prison-reentry-efforts-continue-in-second-year/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Carolina Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference</a>. One perhaps unexpected attendee sat front and center: first lady Anna Stein.</p> <p>The reason soon became clear. Stein addressed the crowd, announcing rehabilitation and reentry as <a href="https://governor.nc.gov/first-lady-anna-stein#SupportingRehabilitationandReentryPrograms-2718" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one of three priority issues she planned to focus on</a> during her husband Gov. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img src="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/54441824616_75f34fe112_o-scaled.jpg" alt="A woman in a dress speaks at a podium during the NC Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference talking about her focus on supporting reentry" class="wp-image-65873" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">First lady Anna Stein speaks at the NC Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference held in April 2025. But stigma and other barriers, she said, often block access to <a href="https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/08/06/more-than-1-in-4-people-released-from-nc-prisons-faced-homelessness-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">housing</a>, jobs and education — which are all essential to long-term stability.