- The Fortune Society

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
4
A Letter from JoAnne Page, President and CEO
2
Faces of Fortune
3
News from DRCPP and The Word in Reform
5
Justice Beat
6
Lentes Latinos
7
National Report
8
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
8
9
10
11
13
14
14
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
[email protected]
.
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.
1 The Fortune News
www.fortunesociety.org
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
»
»
»
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
»
»
»
“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
www.fortunesociety.org
The Fortune News 2
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,
3 The Fortune News
www.fortunesociety.org
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.
www.fortunesociety.org
The Fortune News 4
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
5 The Fortune News
www.fortunesociety.org
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.
www.fortunesociety.org
The Fortune News 6
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.
7 The Fortune News
www.fortunesociety.org
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."
www.fortunesociety.org
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 [email protected]. 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
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The redesigned site is part of a broader
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new blog! The blog provides a window
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engagement in the vital work we do here.
You can participate in the conversation
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us on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and
LinkedIn!
Check it out at www.fortunesociety.org!
»
Question for Next Issue:
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About Alternatives
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