Historic Harlem Court House
The Harlem Community Justice Center's Reentry Services are located in East Harlem
2013 Reentry Graduation starts with a song
The choir started off the celebration this year at the Reentry Court Graduation
Family Reentry Summer Celebration
During the summer, we host a block party and celebration for Reentry clients and their families
Reentry Graduation
Young man thanks his Parole Officer for keeping him on track
Harlem Reentry Graduation
Families join to celebrate the accomplishments of graduates
May 21, 2010
"Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job"
For 20 years, Rev. Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who left his position at a church to start Homeboy Industries, has mentored over 12,000 former gang members in East L.A., providing them with job skills, guidance, and tattoo removal. In his interview with America Magainze, he speaks eloquently about his new book, "Tattoos On The Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion" and why "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job." His work also speaks to role that faith-based partners can play in crime deterrence and reentry. To listen to the interview, click here.
May 18, 2010
U.S. Supreme Court prohibits life sentences for youth not involved in a homicide
By a 6 to 3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law that permits juvenile offenders to be sentenced to life without parole for offenses other than homicides. The Court found that such a sentence violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In the decision, Justice Kennedy wrote, “A state need not guarantee the offender eventual release. . .but if it imposes the sentence of life, it must provide him or her with some realistic opportunity to obtain release before the end of that term.”
For insightful commentary on the scope of the Court's ruling, check out the NY Times Opinion page, including pieces by Marc Mauer, of The Sentencing Project, Tracey L. Meares, Deputy Dean, Yale Law School, Kent Scheidegger, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation and Paul Butler, George Washington Law School.
To read the Oral Arguments or Amicus Briefs filed in the suit, click here.
May 17, 2010
RE-tooling RE-Entry Forum Announcement
The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies announces its:
1st Annual Forum
RE-Tooling RE-Entry:
Building a Comprehensive Understanding of Programs and Services for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals and their Family
Date: Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time: 8:30am-5:30pm
Location: New York Academy of Medicine
To register for the forum, click here.
"Getting a taste of freedom": Inmate Locavores
Via tasteoflocal and Change, Te-Ping Chen reports that allowing inmates to farm their own vegetables offers them valuable skills to use upon reentry and may decrease violence within the prison.
According to the article, Corrigan-Radgowski's prison warden reports that at his facility "prisoners grow all the flowers used in the facility's landscaping. What's more, he says, he's also seen a drop in violence among prisoners who are assigned to work in the garden. It keeps them busy and productive, he says: "Some of these guys haven't seen a fresh vegetable in 15, 20 years."
An individual who participates in that farming program remarked , "This is the best job in the prison, no doubt," Maynard said. "We get a little taste of freedom out here and we get to utilize our days, and give something back."
There also seems to be some real cost saving potential for states that utilize these programs as well. "In Florida, during the first quarter of 2010 alone, the prison farming program saved taxpayers $60,000." For more information on prison farming programs, click here.
May 14, 2010
Police Department Runs Reentry Program in East Palo Alto
Should police departments be involved in reentry? What would a reentry program run by a police department look like? What is the reaction of officers asked to work with men on parole? Chief Ron Davis answers these questions as he discusses a pilot reentry program run by the Police Department in Palo Alto. Listen to the broadcast or read the transcript here.
May 7, 2010
Become a "Learning Site" for the National Parole Resource Center
National Parole Resource Center(NPRC) Announces and Invites Applications from Paroling Authorities and their Supervision Agency Partners To Participate as NPRC "Learning Sites"
This solicitation invites U.S. state paroling/releasing authorities to apply to become one of four states participating in the first major technical assistance effort of the newly-established, Bureau of Justice Assistance-sponsored National Parole Resource Center (NPRC). All four sites will receive technical assistance and training geared toward enhancing their capacity for effective decision-making policy and practice. The NPRC Learning Sites initiatives is designed to support participating sites as they strengthen their decisionmaking and supervision practices, and to generate lessons and insights that will be shared widely with other jurisdictions through the NPRC web site and continuing training and technical assistance. Available resources will allow the NPRC to provide two of the four states with expanded training and technical assistance to address the state’s parole supervision function and to move toward implementation of 13 Strategies for Effective Parole Supervision.
The application deadline for this initiative is Monday, June 21, 2010.
Assistance is scheduled to begin in August, 2010.
Download the full solicitation as a PDF
This solicitation invites U.S. state paroling/releasing authorities to apply to become one of four states participating in the first major technical assistance effort of the newly-established, Bureau of Justice Assistance-sponsored National Parole Resource Center (NPRC). All four sites will receive technical assistance and training geared toward enhancing their capacity for effective decision-making policy and practice. The NPRC Learning Sites initiatives is designed to support participating sites as they strengthen their decisionmaking and supervision practices, and to generate lessons and insights that will be shared widely with other jurisdictions through the NPRC web site and continuing training and technical assistance. Available resources will allow the NPRC to provide two of the four states with expanded training and technical assistance to address the state’s parole supervision function and to move toward implementation of 13 Strategies for Effective Parole Supervision.
The application deadline for this initiative is Monday, June 21, 2010.
Assistance is scheduled to begin in August, 2010.
Download the full solicitation as a PDF
May 6, 2010
Norway's Different Kind of Prison
A sound studio, jogging trails, a freestanding two-bedroom house for family overnight visits, cooking classes, flat screen tvs and mini-fridges in the housing quarters. These are just a few of the amenities provided at Halden, Norway's newest prison. As reported in Time Magazine, treating inmates humanely is a hallmark of the prison: "When they arrive, many of [the prisoners] are in bad shape," Hoidal, the prisoner's governer says, noting that Halden houses drug dealers, murderers and rapists, among others. "We want to build them up, give them confidence through education and work and have them leave as better people...At this prison, guards don't carry guns — that creates unnecessary intimidation and social distance — and they routinely eat meals and play sports with the inmates."
What are recidivism rates like in Norway? The Times reports that even taking into account how different countries measure recidivism rates, Norway still seems to do pretty well. Within two years of their release, 20% of Norway's prisoners end up back in jail. In the U.S. nearly 3 times that amount return to prison within three years. To read the full article, click here.
May 5, 2010
Reentry & Housing Forum:The Cliff Notes
Today's Harlem Reentry & Public Safety Forum hosted by The Fortune Society and the Prisoner Reentry Institute in partnership with the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force, addressed the social, legal, and systemic barriers to housing facing individuals transitioning from jail/prison back into the community.
Mr. George Nashak, Deputy Commissioner of Adult Services, NYC Department of Homeless Services, began the the panel by offering a snapshot of homelessness in New York City. Last night, he said, 36,000 individuals spent the night in a homeless shelter. Every year, approximately 6% of the 100,000 individuals released from Rikers, and another 5-6% of the 67,000 released from state prison, enter the shelter system. Although a chronically homeless person who cycles in and out of the jail system costs the state $100,000 or more a year, it costs only $25,000 a year to provide them the with the "Taj Mahal of supportive housing."
Despite the cost of housing people in jails and prisons and evidence that individuals with stable housing are much less likely to reoffend, both Mr. Nashak and fellow panelist, Ryan Moser, Associate Director of NY Corporation for Supportive Housing explained that both supportive housing and private housing are more difficult to access for reentrants than for the general population. For instance, while individuals who are homeless and have psychiatric illnesses are frequently eligible for supportive housing, someone who has lived in prison for thirty years and has no home to return to upon release, but had a home prior to incarceration, does not meet the "homelessness" criteria for supportive housing. Mr. Moser also explained that those reentrants who were homeless prior to incarceration are often found ineligible for supportive housing because they cannot provide evidence of a history of homelessness. Mr. Moser further noted that private housing is also quite difficult to access for reentrants as private landlords can legally discriminate against individuals with criminal records.
Evelyn Malavé, Legal Assistant at the Legal Action Center, addressed the statutory barriers to accessing public housing for individuals with a criminal record. She explained that there are only two types of legal statuses that create an absolute bar to NYCHA housing, those subject to lifetime sex offender registry and those convicted of methamphetamine production. Other crimes often result in disqualification from public housing for a period of years. However, Ms. Malave explained that a NYCHA applicant can appeal a finding of disqualification by showing evidence of rehabilitation. For more information on how to represent yourself or someone else in an appeal, download the Legal Action Center's "How to Get Section 8 or Public Housing Even with a Criminal Record" guide.
Lastly, Mr. Howard Hughes, an employee and former resident of the Fortune Society, spoke of the challenges he faced looking for a home after leaving prison. He described walking up and down the streets of Harlem trying to convince landlords to rent him an apartment only to be rejected because of his record. After 94 days of searching, a pastor finally found him an apartment. "It is unspeakable, how it feels live in a place without anyone telling you what to do. To be on your own...to be embraced slowly," he said. The Fortune Society's housing for formerly incarcerated individuals does just that- embraces individuals who have been rejected by other facilities. However, as Ms.JoAnne Page, CEO of Fortune Society described, getting community support for Fortune Society's housing was quite a challenge at first. "Our neighbors initially saw it as a public safety risk, the community was scared. But when they realized that our housing actually made people safer, the people who opposed the housing units became our staunchest advocates.” The Fortune Society has recently built a new affordable housing complex at 625 West 140th and is currently accepting applications. They are also in the process of creating a toolkit to help other organizations develop housing options for reentrants.
Thanks to all the panelists and attendees for making the forum a huge success! A special thanks to Councilman Robert Jackson for his attendance and support.
May 4, 2010
May 5th Housing & Reentry Forum!
The Fortune Society, The Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force would like to invite you to attend the third of four multi-disciplinary community reentry forums to be held in Harlem during the first half of this year.
The forums address issues impacting the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to Harlem, and will generate community-driven solutions that increase public safety.
Please join us for the third 2010 Harlem Reentry & Public Safety Forum:
Date: May 5, 2010
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Location: The Fortune Society Academy "Castle" in Harlem, on the corner
of 140th Street and Riverside Drive
Topic: Housing & Reentry
Panelist will include:
JoAnne Page President and CEO, The Fortune Society
George Nashak Deputy Commissioner of Adult Services, NYC Department of Homeless Services
Ryan Moser Associate Director, NY Corporation for Supportive Housing
Howard Hughes Harlem Resident
Evelyn Malavé Legal Assistant, Legal Action Center
According to the U.S Department of Justice, over 700,000 men and women return from prisons to local communities each year in the United States. Annually, more than half of all persons released from New York State prisons to Manhattan return to the neighborhoods of upper Manhattan. The Fortune Society and the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in partnership with the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force, will convene four multi-disciplinary community reentry forums in Harlem in the first half of 2010. The Forums will address issues impacting the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to Harlem, and will generate community-driven solutions that increase public safety. The Forums will engage a broad range of stakeholders in the Harlem community, and experts, to identify solutions to the reentry issues that affect the entire community. The lessons learned from these forums will inform the development of a national blueprint for Harlem and other urban jurisdictions facing large numbers of residents returning home from prison.
May 3, 2010
Former HR Director Makes the Case for Hiring Individuals with Criminal Records
Although many employers know that giving former offenders an fair opportunity to work is the law, few outside the reentry community understand why hiring reentrants is not only a public safety strategy, but a good business decision. Donald Nickels, a former Human Resources Director at a healthcare corporation, never expected to be making the case for hiring individuals with records. However, after taking a job at a Federal Work release program and discovering the benefits of hiring reentrants, that is just what he does. Read his article, "Your Loyal Employees: Reasons to Hire Ex-Felons" here.
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