The Fortune News: January 2011 - Housing

The Fortune News Volume XLIV, No. 1 • January 2011

Announcing:

The Grand Opening of Castle Gardens!

HOUSING Plus: On the Record: Musings from David Rothenberg Barriers to Housing for Sex Offenders Coming Home to Castle Gardens Fortune Has a New Website!

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” —Dostoevski • Published by The Fortune Society •

Table of Contents Our Mission Letter to the Editor

1 2

Eye on Fortune

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A Letter from JoAnne Page, President and CEO

2

Faces of Fortune

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News from DRCPP and The Word in Reform

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Justice Beat

6

Lentes Latinos

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National Report

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Head Count: "Barriers to Housing for Sex Offenders," by Camille Morrison

"Reentry Housing as Refuge," by Ryan Moser

Center Stage

"Coming Home to Castle Gardens," a photo essay by David Y. Lee

On the Record: Musings from Fortune's Founder, David Rothenberg

Introducing Fortune's Redesigned Website!

Food for Thought

Our Mission

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The Fortune Society's mission is to support successful reentry from prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.

We do this by: BELIEVING in the power of individuals to change; BUILDING LIVES through service programs shaped by the needs and experience of our clients; and

Above: JoAnne Page, President & CEO of Fortune, with Board Chair Betty Rauch, at the Grand Opening of Castle Gardens on 09/15/10 (Photo, John Dalton).

Below: NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at the same event (Photo courtesy of the NYC Mayor's Office).

CHANGING MINDS through education and advocacy to promote the creation of a fair, humane and truly rehabilitative correctional system.

CONTACT 212.691.7554 info@fortunesociety.org

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The Fortune Society 29-76 Northern Boulevard Long Island City, NY 11101

To learn more, please visit us at www.fortunesociety.org, contact us by phone or email, or simply stop by our Long Island City headquarters!

Walk-in hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00AM–4:00PM.

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Letters to the Editor

A Letter from Fortune's President & CEO Dear Friends,

To All of My Brothers and Sisters at The Fortune Society,

Thanks a million for spreading love the New York Way. Your newsletter is simply amazing!

Love and Respect,

Donald White, Jr. Stafford Creek Correctional Center Aberdeen, WA

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Dear Editor,

I received my first Fortune News subscription and I am very pleased with the positive progress that is being published in the subscription.

I’m incarcerated in SEI-Rockview in Pennsylvania and I have been struggling to find information to assist me to be positive so that I can reach my goals to become a successful citizen when released.

After seeing the Castle Gardens center, reading the Higher Education Reentry Network, and the stories of community profiles, I’ve developed some great thinking patterns in my life – I can tell myself that “there are people who are doing their best to help prisoners change their lives.”

I am one of thousands of inmates that need help, and the Fortune News has allowed me to focus on a new and positive direction.

Thank you!

Joseph Nusbaum Bellefonte, PA

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“Building more prisons to deal with the drug problem is like digging more graves to deal with the AIDS epidemic.” -Brian Polley; Norfolk, MA

I'm so excited to share with you this issue of the Fortune News, which is all about supportive reentry housing - an issue central both to Fortune's mission and to the work of strengthening our communities.

Three to four thousand men and women walk through Fortune's doors each year and all too many of them are homeless, unemployed, and desperately in need. They are eager to learn how to positively transform their lives, but frustrated by barriers that prohibit them from addressing basic needs such as finding a job, earning a GED, and - most importantly - securing a safe, drug- and crimefree place to call home.

We believe – and evidence has shown – that without immediate help in finding decent housing, homeless individuals are at risk of returning to jail or prison within the first month after release. Access to a living environment that promotes safe and sober socialization, as well as critical services such as education and employment services, can make all the difference.

So what does all of this mean? Well, to everyone at Fortune, it means that supportive housing must be a fundamental part of the support structure we provide to individuals coming home after prison or jail. Our vision is to give homeless men and women a home where they can put down roots and build new lives, and the supportive services needed to do so.

We set the stage for this dream in 1998 when we purchased an abandoned building in West Harlem - now fondly nicknamed "the Castle" for its gothic appearance and scenic location overlooking the Hudson River - and began development of the Fortune Academy. Since opening in 2002, the Castle has helped transform the lives of more than 850 people.

The success of our first venture into supportive housing encouraged us to pursue a bigger dream - one shared by the West Harlem community - to create a safe and supportive living environment that served both our clients and low-income members of the community. Additionally, we wanted to create a residence that would serve as a model of both socially and environmentally responsible housing.

I'm so proud to share that with the opening of Castle Gardens in July 2010, we have truly realized this dream, and - for the first time in our 43-year history - The Fortune Society now provides housing and robust essential services at the same site, creating innovative, long-term green housing solutions both for homeless people with histories of incarceration and for low-income individuals and families from West Harlem and the five boroughs. We are able to do this because the Castle Gardens facility includes a 20,000 square-foot service center that provides residents with onsite services such as counseling and case management - in addition to serving as a much-needed meeting space for local community groups.

Every day I have the privilege of witnessing individuals who once walked through our doors struggling to survive as they move into Fortune's nationally-recognized housing facilities, participate in programs and services designed to address their needs, and transform themselves into positive, contributing members of their communities.

Thanks to the incredible support of our community partners, city- and statewide policymakers, and the hard work of the whole Fortune team, we can now joyfully extend a hand to those in need and say, "Welcome home to The Fortune Society."

Sincerely,

JoAnne Page President & CEO of The Fortune Society

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Faces of Fortune Staff Profile Clyde Hagan Case Manager at Castle Gardens I was first referred to The Fortune Society by my Parole Officer in 2004. I took his recommendation, and ended up participating in the Career Development Workshop. Once I completed the workshop, I was looking for employment when a member of Fortune’s staff let me know that I was eligible to apply for a position that was available. I was hired soon afterwards as a Residential Aide at the Fortune Academy, also known as the Castle. Eventually, I was promoted to the position of Case Manager at the Castle, where my job consisted of working with the formerly incarcerated and homeless. Working with this population has been a rewarding experience that makes my job worthwhile.

The Castle is a safe haven. To watch men and women walk through our doors with understandable reservations about their reentry process, and be able to provide them with the assurances and support they need is truly gratifying. Being a part of an organization that gives individuals like myself a chance to reach their full potential makes me appreciate the work I do all the more.

Fortune not only encourages the population we serve to further their education in order to become more marketable in the job force – it also encourages staff to do the same. My own professional growth in this supportive environment resulted in my recent promotion to Program Manager of Castle Gardens, our new supportive and affordable residence in West Harlem.

In my new position, I will continue to assist our clients with their transition into the community and with becoming productive members of society.

The most challenging part of this work is convincing those who have never been given the real support that we provide that the care and concern that we offer is genuine. They are used to living in a

world that expects something in return for services provided – but at Fortune all we want is for you to become productive members of society and to reach your own full potential!

Community Profile

Chris Carney Superintendent of Castle Gardens I came to Fortune the summer of 2008, after nine and a half years of incarceration. I knew about Fortune because I had worked in transitional services at Auburn Correctional Facility, and we frequently recommended the agency to guys heading home. My family had moved out of the state while I was incarcerated, so I was homeless upon my release. Luckily, I only had to stay at shelters and hotels for one week – about all I could take - before I was interviewed and then granted residency at the Fortune Academy.

and have just moved into my beautiful new two-bedroom apartment in Castle Gardens, where I will once again be the Superintendent.

I came to the Academy less than two years ago – a short period of time during which my whole life has changed. I have finally found a community of my peers – people I can relate to and who can relate to me.

Client Profile

Carl Dukes Resident of Castle Gardens

I served 31 years in prison. After being denied parole three times, I was finally granted release in January of 2008. For the first several weeks after my release, I was homeless - forced to carry my heavy bag, despite having recently undergone spinal surgery , from Ward's Island Men's Shelter, to Bellevue, to the notorious "Bedford & Atlantic" shelter in Brooklyn, NY. Luckily, I was accepted as a resident at the Fortune Academy, where I have a chance to work things out and readjust to society.

I'm also New York has one of the worst housing working situations for formerly incarcerated part-time at individuals, and the Academy is really like The Fortune a diamond in the rough. It’s a friendly, safe Society as a environment that gave me the stability to Data Entry feel comfortable enough to settle in, seek Specialist. employment, take advantage of Fortune’s programs and services, and move forward This with my life. After nine and a half years summer, of incarceration, I tended not to believe I got the anything anyone said. But everyone at the privilege Academy is a straight-shooter. They mean of moving what they say, and that constant honesty into Fortune's new residential and service from both the staff and other residents community, Castle Gardens. I have a made me realize that I was back in a beautiful apartment there, and was community setting with people who truly honored to speak about my experience cared about me. and my new home at the Grand Opening Ceremony in September. I shared my I lost my job with the painters’ union feeling that it’s a great opportunity to within the first month after my release – live at Castle Gardens and be a part of the as soon as they found out I was formerly Fortune family. Castle Gardens gives me incarcerated, in fact. Fortunately, my a chance to focus on what I need to do to experience qualified me for an available build a successful future. After being in position in Fortune's facilities department. prison for 31 years, it’s a challenge to get A year later, my professional growth back on my feet and rebuild my life. The and attitude earned me a promotion Fortune Society has really helped me in to the role of Superintendent for the that process and I thank them for all of Fortune Academy. Today – less than a year their support. later – I am working for Phipps Houses,

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Eye on Fortune Fortune’s New Housing & Service Community Opens Its Doors!

This September, The Fortune Society and Jonathan Rose Companies gathered with community supporters, funding partners, sister agencies, and a number of federal, state, and local officials – including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg – to celebrate the grand opening of Castle Gardens. The opening of this innovative, green, supportive and affordable residential community represents the first time in Fortune’s 43-year history that we will provide affordable housing and essential services at the same site, creating

long-term housing solutions for homeless people with histories of incarceration as well as low-income individuals and families from West Harlem and the five boroughs.

“The City of New York is proud to partner with the Fortune Society and Jonathan Rose Companies to help create this wonderful affordable development to provide people who have had difficult pasts with the tools and opportunity to build bright, productive futures,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Castle Gardens is a project that represents the City’s recovery – a critical piece in our comprehensive strategy to get things back on track in these difficult times. By making smart Castle Gardens Distinctive Features investments in our city we can at once create Castle Gardens includes 113 affordable new jobs, new economic apartments and a live-in superintendant: opportunities, and a more • 50 furnished studio apartments provide affordable and sustainable supportive housing for homeless New York.” individuals with incarceration histories; For more information about • 13 one-, two- and three-bedroom Castle Gardens, please apartments provide supportive housing for visit our website (www. homeless families with at least one member fortunesociety.org), and who is formerly incarcerated; check out some of the distinctive features in the • 50 studio to three-bedroom apartments pop-out on this page! provide affordable housing for low-income community residents and families.

The Fortune Society Residents of Castle Gardens and the 2010 Annual Awards and adjoining Castle can access the supportive Benefit Gala a Resounding reentry services they need just steps Success! from their homes. A 20,000-square-foot More than 300 members Service Center provides residents with on-site of New York City’s services such as counseling, case management, philanthropic, business, civic substance abuse treatment, and VocEd services and theater communities – in addition to serving as a much needed gathered on November meeting space for local community groups.

15, 2010 for the Fortune Other Castle Gardens highlights include: Society’s Annual Awards and Benefit Gala. The event, held • Computer lab and library at the Laura Pels Theater, honored Newark Mayor Cory • 725-square-foot conference and event A. Booker and Broadway room with state-of-the-art technology Producer Eric Krebs.

• Energy-efficient green design, based on Pulitzer Prize winning LEED Gold Certification standards, that playwright Edward Albee will lead to significant long-term health and New York State benefits and cost savings Assemblyman Keith L.T. • Office and meeting space for Fortune Wright served as the staff and programs evening’s honorary Co-Chairs. Proceeds from

Above: Castle Gardens and "the Castle" in Harlem.

Below: Mayor Bloomberg at the Grand Opening.

the gala totaled approximately $105,000.

Fortune presented Mayor Booker with the David Rothenberg Achievement Award.

“Mayor Booker’s supportive programs for formerly incarcerated men and women serve as a critical component of his vision of urban transformation for Newark,” said JoAnne Page, Fortune's President and CEO.

Krebs is the producer of The Castle, a play conceived and directed by Fortune founder David Rothenberg highlighting true-life stories of incarceration and life beyond prison walls. He was honored at the gala with the Corporate Leaders for Change Award. “As the producer of The Castle, Mr. Krebs continues to spread the word about Fortune’s long history of advocacy and reentry services to community members, students, parole and probation officials, clergy, legislators, and other critical stakeholders,” said Page.

Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, awards presentation and screening of Bring Your ‘A’ Game, a 22-minute documentary that focuses on the relationship between high school drop-out rates, low educational expectations and the growing prison population.

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News from The David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy Introduction The Fortune Society launched the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy (DRCPP) in 2008. While Fortune has always engaged in advocacy and community education, DRCPP is focused on the coordination of Fortune's policy development, advocacy, technical assistance, training, and community education efforts. DRCPP integrates Fortune's internal expertise – the life experience of our formerly incarcerated staff and clients and our first-hand experience as a direct service provider – with research and evaluation to advocate for a fairer criminal justice system; promote effective program models and needed supports for people with criminal justice histories; and change the counterproductive laws and policies that create unfair barriers to the successful reentry of people with criminal justice histories into our communities.

The Word in Reform

by Glenn E. Martin, Fortune's Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of DRCPP. The Fortune Society recently launched Castle Gardens, our new green, mixed use, supportive and affordable housing community in West Harlem, NYC, because we know that helping people released from prisons or jails find safe places to live is critical to reducing homelessness and recidivism, as well as to ensuring stable housing opportunities for children, families, and communities.

Research has shown that people who do not find stable housing in the community are more likely to recidivate than those who do. According to a qualitative study by the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera Institute), parolees released from incarceration who entered homeless shelters in New York City (NYC) were seven times more likely to violate their

David Rothenberg founded The Fortune Society in 1967 after producing "Fortune and Men's Eyes," a controversial play about the horrors of the juvenile justice system, with his own life savings.

parole by absconding during the first month after release than those who had some form of housing.

More than 10 percent of individuals currently incarcerated in prison and jail were homeless in the months before their incarceration. For those with mental illness, the rates are even higher – about 20 percent. The rates are also higher for those returning to major urban areas. A California study, for example, reported that while 10 percent of the state's parolees were homeless, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of parolees in metropolitan areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles were homeless. This information is consistent with data concerning homelessness: 49 percent of homeless adults reportedly spent five or more days in a city or county jail, and 18 percent had been incarcerated in a state or federal prison.

City officials are increasingly noting this connection. In a 36-city survey on hunger and homelessness, prison release was identified by officials in six cities (Cleveland, Denver, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, DC) as a major contributor to homelessness.

Recent studies in NYC reveal that more than 30 percent of single adults entering shelters under the Department of Homeless Services are persons recently released from city and state correctional institutions. Many of these individuals continually cycle between incarceration and shelters.

Exacerbating this problem is the fact that private landlords routinely refuse to rent apartments to individuals with criminal histories, no matter how long ago

the conviction occurred nor how much evidence of rehabilitation is presented by the prospective tenant. Housing authorities and private landlords employ overly restrictive and harsh policies to exclude people with conviction records, effectively denying housing to people who pose no threat to the public, tenants or property. Other counterproductive barriers to housing for individuals with criminal histories, thus severely limiting housing options, include: federal, state and local statutory bars; limited homeless shelter eligibility; inadequate discharge planning services; forces of gentrification in low-income neighborhoods; stigma and discrimination; “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) attitudes; and a woefully inadequate supply of resources and affordable housing.

Further compounding this complicated issue, federal laws require providers of public, Section 8, and other federally assisted housing to perform background checks on potential tenants. They are required to deny housing to: individuals who were previously evicted from public or federally subsidized housing for drug-related criminal activity for a period of three years from the date of eviction (unless they completed an approved rehabilitation program), sex offenders listed in state lifetime registries, and individuals convicted of methamphetamine production in public housing.

In addition to these three federally required exclusions, local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) are granted broad discretion to impose exclusions based on criminal histories – a freedom that too often results in overly broad exclusions. For example, NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) additionally denies public housing or Section 8 to any individual convicted of drug-related criminal offenses, violent offenses, or other criminal activity that it views as negatively affecting the health and safety of residents. NYCHA currently offers no formal process for accepting certificates of rehabilitation or good conduct to allow someone convicted of a drug-related offense to reside in public housing. This is particularly problematic for individuals who were previously living with family in

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public housing prior to their arrest and conviction – if the individual attempts to return to the apartment in the public housing building, the entire family can be evicted.

With a new 2-year grant totaling $320,000 from the Oak Foundation, DRCPP is set to embark on a multi-year campaign to educate policymakers and advocate for legislative and regulatory policy reform at the federal, state, and local levels (change in federal HUD rules and regulations, local PHA regulations), as well as target local de facto discriminatory practices

(discrimination by private landlords, local PHA practices, discriminatory practices by affordable housing leasing agents) to eliminate counterproductive barriers to affordable housing for previously incarcerated individuals re-entering the community – including those that unfairly single out sex offenders. We will also work to promote affordable, supportive reentry housing programs such as Fortune Academy (“the Castle”) and Castle Gardens as models that can be replicated by other reentry and housing service providers across the country and internationally.

“The City of New York is proud to partner with the Fortune Society and Jonathan Rose Companies to help create this wonderful affordable development to provide people who have had difficult pasts with the tools and opportunity to build bright, productive futures. ” –Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at the Castle Gardens Grand Opening Ceremony

Justice Beat:

This is a brief summary of Katherine Cortes’ and Shawn Rogers’ Reentry Housing Options: The Policymakers’ Guide (New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2010).

Introduction The Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG) recently published policy recommendations for the provision of reentry housing. The guide highlights the importance of stable housing in breaking the cycle of recidivism and promoting successful reintegration.

Report Findings

In the present economic climate, it is a challenge to summon the political will and the financial resources needed to provide adequate reentry housing options to individuals returning to their communities with no place to go. The problem of homelessness upon reentry is of particular concern, because it increases the chances of renewed criminal activity or parole violations, leading to reincarceration.

As an example of the magnitude of the problem, it is estimated that over 30 percent of the single adults in homeless shelters in New York City are persons recently released from correctional institutions.

The CSG guide places special emphasis on the financial and social costs of recidivism and reincarceration as a practical reason for policy makers to promote and pursue the recommended reentry housing

strategies aggressively. According to a study of the costs of homelessness conducted by the Lewin Group in 2004, the daily cost of housing an individual in jail is $70. The daily cost of housing someone in prison is almost $60. By comparison, the daily cost of supportive housing is roughly $30. Incarceration, therefore, is at least twice as expensive as supportive housing on average.

Recommendations

The guide specifies six categories of stable housing options upon reentry, listed below. It notes that the last three of these alternatives are rarely available, and argues that all six categories need to be increased.

• • • • • •

Private rental housing Public housing Affordable housing (owned and managed privately or by nonprofits) Halfway houses Supportive housing Specialized reentry housing

The magnitude of this challenge is best understood in light of the fact that each year, roughly 750,000 people are released from prison and another 9 million people are released from jail. Even though many of these individuals are able to return to their own homes and families, or move in with relatives or friends, many others have no place to stay. Moreover, many of these same individuals do not have sufficient income upon reentry to rent adequate accommodations.

To aid policymakers in devising strategies that address the urgent need for housing alternatives for recently released individuals, CSG presents three specific recommendations:

1. Improving access to housing units (through improved placement services, for example).

2. Increasing the number of available housing units through new construction or renovation of existing stock.

3. Engaging in extensive neighborhood revitalization, increasing available housing as well as the quantity and type of available services and supports.

The appropriate strategy or mix of strategies for each locality depends upon the specific conditions and characteristics of the environment where the strategies are to be implemented. That said, the mounting scarcity of available rental units during the past decade and the increasing demand for public housing or housing vouchers among other at-risk groups makes it increasingly difficult to plan and fund housing options for the formerly incarcerated. Moreover, the implementation of these strategies often hinge upon federal and state housing mandates. The CSG guide outlined above, therefore, was designed to provide specific arguments and guidance to the policymakers who formulate the reentry housing policies in their particular jurisdictions.

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Lentes Latinos demasiado! Ella tuvo que ir de una casa grande con su propio dormitorio principal a compartir un apartamento de un dormitorio con cuatro personas. Sólo sabía que ya no podía esperar a llegar a casa y poder estar juntas de nuevo!

Hija: Cuando mi madre por primera vez lejos, mi tía me llevó con ella, y he vivido con ella durante unos cuatro y años y medio. Tuve Yolanda and her daughter Destiny. algún ajuste, porque tuve que aprender a compartir por Yolanda Morales todo. Fui de un apartamento de esta gran casa a que estaba acostumbrada, y no pude Hija: Yo siempre he sido muy cercana conseguir todo lo que quería. Las cosas a mi mamá, por lo que el dolor de su fueron muy diferentes, pero comenze el encarcelación me golpeó duro. Sabiendo cambio y hice lo que necesitaba para llevar que ella venía de vuelta a la casa fue un acabo mi logro. Cuando yo estaba cerca momento muy feliz para mí. Recuerdo que de mitad del camino en el grado noveno fue un momento muy emocionado, porque me mude con una amiga de la familia que – a mí – esos años se sentían como toda ha sido como una segunda madre desde la una vida. edad de dos años de edad. Fue otro gran cambio, pero esta vez tenía mi propia Madre: Estaba acercándose el momento habitación y tenía más espacio. Empecé a de para mi liberación, y la anticipación trabajar y a crecer. fue abrumadora. Yo tome la decisión de no volver a Florida, donde vivía mi hija, pero Madre: Tras mi liberación, me mudé para mudarme a Nueva York en su lugar. con mi hermana mayor, que vivia en un Mi hija también pidió que ella pudiera apartamento de la sección 8. el apoyo de mi completar su educación en la Florida – una familia siempre ha sido bueno, y estoy muy decisión realmente dolorosa, como ya no agradecida . Pero he tenido que enfrentar podía esperar el momento de verla de el hecho de que, por primera vez desde nuevo. la edad de 18 años, que iba a vivir con un Hija: La parte más difícil de esto para mí fue poder estar con ella de inmediato, y no poder comprenderlo en un principio.

Yo sabía que yo quería terminar la escuela en Florida, pero no entendía por qué ya no quería restablecer de nuevo su hogar en la Florida. Crecí para ver que, debido a su adicción al anterior, regresando inmediatamente no era realmente lo que necesitaba para una vida mejor. También empecé a darme cuenta de que ella la idea de estar separadas por mucho tiempo, pero también reconoció que necesitaba terminar la escuela allí – sobre todo porque mis logros me iban bien.

Madre: Durante mi encarcelamiento mi hija vivía con mi hermana. Yo sabía que era un cambio drástico para su destino: ella es hija único y había tenido todo…a lo mejor

miembro de la familia y estar desempleada.

A la edad de 50 años, esto fue incómodo para mí. Tome un trabajo de tele marketing justo un mes después de mi liberación y continuó circulando mi curriculum vitae.

Realmente extrañaba a mi hija y no aguantaba las ganas de verla. Destina se había trasladado con mi mejor amiga cuando ella tenía 15 años, y ese hogar había sido mucho más pacífico para ella.

Para los próximos años viajé hacia atrás y hacia adelante a Florida para verla, y pasó cada vacación posible conmigo. Tres años después de ser liberada, momento en el que estaba empleada en la sociedad de fortuna como una sénior consejera – fui capaz de mudarme a mi propio apartamento.

Este fue un momento tan estresante pero motivador para mí.

Mi objetivo era preparar un lugar para yo reunirme con mi hija la dejé cuando ella tenía nueve años, y ahora sería finalmente regresaba a la edad de 18 anos. Deje a una niña y me iba a vivir con una mujer joven.

Nuestro enlace y comunicación fueron excelentes. Durante el encarcelamiento le escribía cada día. Nunca he perdido de vista el hecho de que le necesitaba tanto como ella me necesitaba a mi.

Hija: A través de todo esto mi madre y yo continuamente viajó hacia atrás y hacia delante, porque un enlace tan fuerte como el mío con mi madre no podría mantenernos apartadas.

Madre: Ahora vivimos juntas y el mundo es mucho más brillante. Ella asistía a la Universidad y trabaja en la iniciativa de Colegio en Fortuna. Mi relación con destina no podía ser mejor. Tenemos un enlace que no puede ser roto!

Hija: Ahora nuestro hogar es tranquilo y pacífico. Me encanta poder estar en la casa con mi madre. Hemos perdido mucho tiempo precioso junta, pero en ese momento crecí y aprendí a cerca del perdón y le he perdonado los errores que se cometieron en el pasado Yo amo mucho a mi mamá y no quisiera que ella se culpara continuamente por el pasado, porque ella siempre me dio una buena vida y siempre fue una buena madre. Ella hace a nuestra casa en un hogar maravillo con su amor.

Madre: Mi transición fue mucho más suave de lo que era para muchas otras mujeres que no tienen lazos familiares o apoyo.

No era fácil, pero mi determinación y los objetivos que establecí para mi misma me ayudo sobrevivir. También hizo una gran diferencia en mi vida que he conectado con la sociedad fortuna durante el encarcelamiento. Me encanta a mi hija, y Fortuna me ayudó a crear una nueva vida que podría compartir con ella. Todavía estoy tan agradecida por ello. Visite a Fortuna dos semanas después de mi liberación, el 31 de marzo de 2003, y hoy estoy todavía aquí!

Yolanda Morales es una ex prisidaria que hoy en día trabaja para la “Fortune Society” como Directora de los servicios de transición, incluido el programa R.I.D.E (mejoramiento de descarga de la isla de Rikers) cuyo objetivo es mejorar el proceso de liberación.

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National Report “Senate Passes Bill to End Prison Gerrymandering in New York” Long Island Exchange, Official Press Release, 08/04/10

Gerrymandering is essentially the practice of counting the non-voting prison population towards the districts in which they are incarcerated, resulting in greater legislative representation and allocation of resources. Outlawing this practice will result in a fairer census process in which individuals are counted as residents of the communities where they lived prior to their incarceration, rather than at the prisons where their sentenced are served. This will effectively redistribute critical resources and legislative heft to communities that desperately need them.

“Paterson Signs Bill Limiting Stop-and-Frisk Data”

by Al Baker and Colin Moynihan New York Times “City Room”, 07/16/10

Former Governor Paterson signed into law a bill which makes it illegal for the NYC Police Department to continue storing information about people questioned and released during stop-andfrisks. The database includes a record of each stop, including the age and race of the person stopped. The Governor, along with sponsors of the bill, believes that this practice violates the privacy rights of innocent people.

“Obama Signs Law Narrowing Cocaine Sentencing Disparities”

by Peter Baker New York Times “The Caucus” 08/03/10

President Obama has signed into law a bill which will reduce federal sentencing disparities between persons caught with crack and those arrested with powder cocaine. Under the old law, getting caught with five grams of crack resulted in a mandatory sentence of five years in prison, but a person had to get caught with 500 grams of powder cocaine to merit the same term. The new law reduces the 100-to-1 disparity to 18-to-1. The bill was supported unanimously in the Senate and the House, and by President Obama, who said the new law would, “help right an outstanding wrong.”

Head Count:

BARRIERS TO HOUSING FOR SEX OFFENDERS

By Camille A. Morrison The challenges of housing sex offenders have grown exponentially over the last few years.

It has been increasingly difficult to house this specific population as a result of convoluted zoning laws that preclude them from residing within 1,000 feet of a school, day care, or day camp. In addition to not being able to live within certain zones, sex offenders are also required to register with their local police each time they move to a new approved residence.

The registry which holds all their vital information, including a photo which is taken at registration, is then made public.

These practices have systematically disenfranchised this group of formerly incarcerated individuals, pushing them to the margins of society by denying them the fundamental right to a home.

Legislation implemented to “zone out” sex offenders has historically been predicated on fear. This must be changed. Residency restrictions don’t protect society. Studies have found that on average, most perpetrators traveled at least one mile from home to commit a crime. Research done in Minnesota found that residency restrictions would not have prevented a single one of the crimes studied. These findings weaken the argument that sex offenders should not live in close proximity to vulnerable populations.

Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and a national advocate on prisoner reentry, has written extensively on the concept of invisible punishments. Travis states that, “at a time when prisoner programs to prepare parolees for life outside were dwindling, barriers hindering offender reintegration have proliferated.” It is especially challenging to return home reformed after a prolonged period of incarceration, only to find out there are extensive barriers to reentry and reintegration, including significant impediments to finding housing.

Laws such as New Jersey’s Megan’s Law and Florida’s Jessica’s Law mandate that returning juvenile and adult sex offenders submit their name and address to a public registry for a period of 20 years to life,

depending on the offender’s designated level: I, II or III. This mandate speaks directly to Travis’ concept of invisible punishment that results in a sex offender being stigmatized, potentially for the rest of his/her life. In California, this restriction has created a housing crisis that has driven numerous paroled sex offenders to live on the street – making them difficult to supervise – or simply abscond. The basis of established zoning laws is the promotion of public safety; the problem is that these counterproductive laws have inadvertently hampered reintegration efforts, creating a situation where marginalized individuals are actually more likely to recidivate out of desperation.

Though these challenges persist, many reentry housing and service providers such as The Fortune Society have experienced success housing sex offenders.

However, our record could be further improved if legislation around this matter were to move in a direction that supports these individuals in reentering their communities safely and successfully.

Presidential initiatives around reentry in the recent past have been commendable, beginning in the Clinton Administration when Attorney General Janet Reno called for new approaches to prisoner reentry, and continuing under the Bush Administration, with the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) and the President’s Reentry Initiative (PRI). These initiatives were a step in the right direction, but are not enough. A revision of existing legislation designed to reduce or eliminate barriers to integration, specifically barriers to housing, would make critical improvements in the lives of men and women returning home after incarceration, strengthening the fabric of our communities as a whole along the way.

Camille Morrison has worked with the criminal justice and HIV/AIDS populations for the past nine years. She has a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Masters in Public Administration, both from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She previously worked in the non-profit management consulting field but is now the Administrative Director of Scattered Site Housing for The Fortune Society.

www.fortunesociety.org

The Fortune News 8

Reentry Housing as Refuge

by Ryan Moser, Managing Director of the Eastern Region; Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) If there was a canary in the coal mine signaling the declining health of the criminal justice system in the United States, it died about twenty years ago, in the early nineties.

Our jail and prison populations had slightly more than doubled over the previous decade, but were still less than half of the staggering 2.3 million people incarcerated today.1

Today, more than 1 in 100 adults are incarcerated, and it’s worse than even that figure seems. One percent seems like a number of people that could be absorbed into an otherwise healthy system, but the system isn’t healthy. People predominantly return to neighborhoods where homelessness, unemployment, welfare receipt, high school drop-out, and foster care rates soar – where health insurance is a luxury, and where emergency rooms are constantly flooded. This is a public health system in which jails and prisons house three times more people with mental illness than do hospitals2, and where people are twelve times more likely to die in the two weeks following release – primarily from drug overdose3. What is going wrong here? What is missing? refuge

1: a place that provides shelter or protection

2: something to which one has recourse in difficulty –Merriam Webster’s Dictionary

1 West, Heather. “Prison Inmates at Midyear 2009 – Statistical Tables.” U.S. Department of Justice, NCJ 230113. June, 2010.

2 Torrie E. Fuller, M.D., et al. “More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States.” A Report of The National Sheriffs Association and The Treatment Advocacy Center. May, 2010.

3 Ingrid A. Binswanger, M.D, et al. “Release from Prison – A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates.” The New England Journal of Medicine, 356;2. January, 2007.

When people get out, where do they go?

Too often, the answer is: to our streets and shelters, and into a cycle of crisis services, homelessness, and incarceration.

Housing access is often limited by high costs – a situation worsened by criminal justice exclusions for affordable and public housing and the lack of any fair housing protection for individuals with criminal records, regardless of type of crime and relationship to housing. It’s time to rework these policies to reflect the current need for large-scale reintegration.

There are others for whom housing alone is not enough. Formerly incarcerated people may have dually diagnosed mental health and addiction disorders, requiring access to supportive services to maintain housing stability, address chronic illness, and build relationships with the community. Non-profits with an understanding of the criminal justice system, behavioral health needs, the role of consumer involvement, and the challenges that come with independence can bring affordable housing together with services to meet this need. Reentry supportive housing is a refuge, and it works. It improves public safety, improves individual and public health, and strengthens communities. So why aren’t we doing more of it?

One answer is the cost. Supportive housing costs about $15,000 per person, per year. But here’s the catch: not creating supportive housing costs much more.

You may have read about Million Dollar Murray4 studies that have demonstrated that supportive housing costs significantly less than emergency services (shelter, detox, hospitalization, etc.) for people who are homeless. The response I often get is, “But that’s about homelessness, not jail.” A new study on targeting highcost homelessness indicates that the two may be very closely connected. It shows that, while supportive housing generally reduces public costs by $1,274 per month (44%), for the most expensive 10% of homeless persons (those to whom the most services and care are provided) it cuts costs by $5,731 per month (71%).

Four of the top ten indicators that 4 Malcolm Gladwell. “Million Dollar Murray.” The New Yorker. February 13, 2006.

distinguish the most expensive segment of this population are related with incarceration and community corrections5.

Aren’t these the right people for supportive housing?

For many years, this work has been done by forward-thinking public agencies and non-profits struggling to cobble together enough resources to provide reentry housing, but the scale may be starting to tip. There are a growing number of advocates, both locally and nationally, who are pushing for housing and reentry funding to be coordinated and inclusive. There are real opportunities through expansion of the Second Chance Act and the new Federal Plan to End Homelessness. In New York, an otherwise abysmal budget process also included the first example of dedicated statewide reentry supportive housing funding in the country as a part of Rockefeller Drug Law Reform.

There is a long way to go, but we may be learning that it is better to pay for alternatives than continue paying for the consequences of not providing supportive services for the men and women returning home after prison and jail. Rehabilitation requires refuge, both for people and for policy.

As Managing Director of the Eastern Region, Ryan leads CSH's teams in New England, New York, New Jersey, and the Mid-Atlantic as they work to expand CSH's impact and meet the needs of communities and individuals working to end structural homelessness. Prior to this role, Ryan led New York's involvement with the Returning Home Initiative. He has also worked to develop models, initiatives and policy related to active substance use, mental health alternatives to incarceration, justice reinvestment, community corrections, veterans, and housing interventions for families with criminal justice involvement.

Ryan's previous work and educational experience includes multicultural education, curriculum design, linguistics, ceramics, and international development.

5 Daniel Flemming, Michael Matsunaga, Patrick Burns.

“Tools for Identifying High-Cost, High-Need Homeless Persons.” Report from the Economic Roundtable. June, 2010.

9 The Fortune News

www.fortunesociety.org

Center Stage What does home mean to you? This was the question posed to Fortune clients during art therapy. The emotions that resulted from the exploration of this theme were depicted on 6"x6" squares using only scissors, glue and construction paper to collage an image. Employing limiting materials and space is a strategy to challenge clients to think simply about an emotional topic.

To some, home was a reflection of a place to feel safe, relax, see family and have personal space; others were reminded of pain, foster care, abuse, or struggle. Each client wrote a title for their piece and a caption completing the sentence "Home is ... " which was then shared with the group to promote awareness of commonalities among peers and foster support.

"Coming home for me is just seeing the places I love.

Home is coming to the family." - Joshua

"Home is a place where you can relax and be at peace." Leonard

"My home - a.k.a. my hood - makes me feel good. Home is the place to be." - Michael "Home is where my child is!" – Austin You can submit your own creative work – including poetry, fiction, drawings, and more – by sending them to the address on PG 13.

www.fortunesociety.org

The Fortune News 10

Coming Home to Castle Gardens Over the next year, photographer David Y. Lee will document the lives and homes of Castle Gardens' residents as they move into Fortune's innovative, mixed-use, green affordable and supportive housing community in West Harlem. In the first installment in this series, David spends a day with Larry White, who recently moved from "the Castle" – Fortune's original housing facility in West Harlem – into a studio apartment in Castle Gardens.

Larry White was released from prison in early 2007, after serving 32 years of a 25-to-life sentence. Both his wife and his mother had passed away during his incarceration, so he was essentially homeless upon his release.

Luckily, Larry contacted The Fortune Society, and he was soon granted residency at The Fortune Academy (a.k.a. "the Castle").

11 The Fortune News

www.fortunesociety.org

Larry says, "My successful reentry can be directly attributed to the structured support I received from The Fortune Society. Everyone at Fortune – frontline staff to executives – they all played a personal role in guiding me through this difficult transition."

Above Left: "I'm waiting for my new Elba Space Saver from The Container Store to organize all my books."

Below Left: "I frequent the park by the Hudson River every day to relax and meditate."

Below Right: "After 32 years of

wearing a green uniform, I dress up for every occasion."

Above Right: "I exercise every morning while enjoying the scenic rooftop views."

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The Fortune News 12

On the Record: musings from fortune's founder David Rothenberg Obituary of Stanley Eldridge.

Stanley Eldridge was a poet to the depth of his soul.

He was a teenager on Riker’s Island, serving a two year sentence, when we first met. He presented me with a collection of his poems, leading to a correspondence that continued until his release, when he became a part of The Fortune Society.

I was overwhelmed by the depth and clarity of his writing. Stanley informed me that, as a runaway kid, he was placed in the Rockland County Psychiatric Ward because there were no facilities for someone his age. He hid out in the library, and books became his refuge – his first drug.

The Fortune Society published a collection of his works, Return to Me My Kind, and the revenue from the book sales gave him a financial starting point when he was released from Rikers Island.

Various artists were drawn to Stanley’s poems. Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee once put on an evening of poetry and prose during which they included several of Stanley’s poems. That was repeated by Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson. George C. Scott, when introduced to the Stanley’s work, read

FORTUNE NEWS SUBMISSIONS: Please send your written or creative work to the following address to be considered for publication in a future issue of the Fortune News.

Fortune News Submissions Colleen Koch, Editor c/o The Fortune Society 29-76 Northern Blvd.

Long Island City, NY 11101

two of his poems to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show.

The Fortune Society had opened a store on Sheridan Square in the late 1960’s, and Stanley became one of our first salesmen, in a store that hired only the formerly incarcerated.

Over the years Stanley came and went. He lived on a Caribbean island for nearly a decade, but when he returned to the states, we re-connected.

His life was never free of angst or roadblocks, but he did not return to prison.

BRING "THE CASTLE" PLAY TO YOU! The Castle was conceived, co-written, and directed by Fortune Founder David Rothenberg, and is co-written and performed by Vilma Oritz Donovan, Kenneth Harrigan, Angel Ramos, and Casimiro Torres – all of whom are former clients of The Fortune Society. This breathtaking drama follows the formerly incarcerated cast, which has collectively served over 70 years in prison, as they relate their harrowing, real-life journeys through adversity, crime, and redemption.

The Castle recently completed its 14-month-long Off Broadway run at the New World Stages where it opened in April of 2008. The first play in Off Broadway history to have a cast composed entirely of formerly incarcerated persons, The Castle has received significant critical acclaim. The cast of The Castle still performs this vivid and inspiring work in prisons, colleges, hospitals, and community organizations all around the nation.

David Rothenberg, Founder of the Fortune Society Stanley, the man, was and the play's director, said recently that, "Fortune complex. His quick wit Society's play, The Castle, has taken wing. We and keen intelligence have recently performed at a conference of federal were reflected in his probation/parole officers in Jacksonville, Florida; animated manner. In his a national convention of state governments in final years, when he was Washington DC; and at a reentry conference in in extreme pain, most Greenwich, Connecticut." of our conversations were over the phone.

If you would like to book a performance of The Two years ago, myself, Castle, please contact Eric Krebs, the producer, Rory Anderson, and at 212-967-7079, or EKTMinc@aol.com. For Gregory Fredricks from additional information, please visit: The Fortune Academy www.thecastletheplay.org. ventured to New Jersey where Stanley was the poems we included in the collection, living, and we did an Return To My Mind. evening of his poetry at Saint Mathews Church in Jersey City. We then repeated My friend Stanley Eldridge passed away the performance at before his 58th birthday – I had known Lincoln Center. him for 40 years. It was my great good In many ways, Stanley was like a little brother to me. He frequently shared his dreams and fears, as well as his keen observations of the political and social tapestry of America. His comments were always unique and reflective of his soulful humanity.

I joined others to offer words at the Memorial Service this past spring, reading a poem that Stanley wrote as a teenager on Riker’s Island, after meeting a group of outside theatre people who had entered his bleak surroundings. It was one of

fortune to be in Stanley’s life.

A Poem by Stanley Eldridge Return me to my mind let me snuggle up and rest among the darkness the cell I know so well

When past was nothing frustrating where nothing is better where no rush decided nothing where no age perceived

13 The Fortune News

www.fortunesociety.org

Food for Thought What does the word "Home" mean to you? “…to me, a “Home” truly means any physical space you may be at where you find security, comfort, love and support.

That old adage, “Home is where the heart is,” has proven true. I find that wherever I may be, I’m always at “Home” in the sense that with the robust, continuing love and support that I possess from my family and friends, compounded by the faith and hope I have towards my future, give me the security and comfort to sleep peacefully each and every night. Thus, no matter where I am…I am always “Home.”

–Shane B. Ogden; Avenel, NJ

»

»

»

“I personally decipher the word “Home” to signify any place where I am surrounded by unconditional love and trust; a place where I can refocus, relax, and unwind without being interrupted unnecessarily.

But more importantly…home is where I am honestly able to feel safe and rest peacefully.”

–M. Hattley; “A NYS Prison Lifer” from Napanoch, NY

»

»

New Website!

Fortune officially launched our completely revamped website in August 2010!

We transformed an outdated and textheavy site into an accessible, dynamic, and visually compelling resource.

Through the use of direct and authentic visual narrative, our re-imagined site gives a face to the men and women we serve, highlighting their efforts to

regain their lives and dignity. Fortune’s redesigned site also features a simple, user-friendly interface that makes navigation intuitive to a diverse audience.

Other benefits of the new site include: easy access to information about the issues (why our work is important), the quality programs and services we’ve developed to address these needs, and ways to get personally involved in Fortune’s work by becoming an advocate with the DRCPP, volunteering, or even donating online!

The redesigned site is part of a broader new media strategy that includes a robust social media presence and a brand new blog! The blog provides a window into the daily moments of growth, transformation, and redemption that occur at Fortune, facilitating a deeper engagement in the vital work we do here.

You can participate in the conversation by following our blog, and by joining us on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and LinkedIn! Check it out at www.fortunesociety.org!

»

Question for Next Issue: How might your life be different if you'd been eligible for and offered the option of participating in an alternative to incarceration program?

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The Fortune News 14

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Please note that not all submissions will be printed, and that Fortune News reserves the right to edit submissions as appropriate. Submissions that are not printed in this periodical may be selected to appear on the Fortune Society’s blog. The Fortune Society does not provide pen pals. If you are seeking a correspondent, we recommend you contact: WriteAPrisoner.com; P.O. Box 10; Edgewater, FL 32132. With the exception of limited post-incarcerative custody and child support issues, The Fortune Society does not provide legal advice or representation. If you need legal services in New York, we recommend you contact: Legal Services of New York; 350 Broadway, 6th Floor; New York, NY 10013.

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