Skip to main content

Model programs to aid ex-prisoners join civil society

Fortune Acadamy in West Harlem
An opinion piece in the New York Times, “For Ex-Prisoners, a Haven Away From the Streets,” deals with the issue of the terrible life prospects of people rejoining the free, helter-skelter workaday world after having served a long spell in prison.

Two model programs that have demonstrated success at reintegrating men and women into polite society are featured: The Castle [run by the Fortune Society] in New York’s West Harlem and Delancey Street in San Francisco. Both, while quite different, are lauded as successful operations that, curiously, aren’t being widely replicated across the country.

The writer, Tina Rosenberg, tells us that one thing that has been learned is what’s most important in rehabilitating former prisoners to a successful outside-the-Walls life is to swap-out their old friends for new ones who are lawful, productive and up-beat. Writes Rosenberg:
At both Fortune and Delancey, a person emerging from prison is surrounded by a community of people who support him, hold him accountable, teach him skills and model good behavior. Many of the men and women in these programs come to think of themselves as productive members of society for the first time in their lives, and it may also be the first time they ever feel competent at anything besides lawbreaking.
The Castle and Delancey Street are big operations that give men and women rooms, a long stay and real employment opportunities. Plus, at Delancey Street, there are at-site business operations for the former prisons to run and earn money from. From this, the Castle and Delancey Street are far more encompassing than Rehab programs, that are church-based and mainly focus on drug and alcohol abuse, I know about in our metropolis at Union Gospel Mission and in Rancho Cordova.

A Castle or Delancey Street spin-off seems like something Sacramento would benefit from in helping former prisoners, here, get off the merry-go-round of lock-up and crime.

While neither program has been formally studied to verify its effectiveness, both Castle and Delancey are lauded anecdotally for being highly beneficial at restoring lives and ending crime.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

More obstacles revealed in effort to make Mather cottages habitable

Mold, asbestos and lead paint, oh my! The 35 cottages out at Mather Community Campus seem closer to being condemned today than ever again being inhabited. But the expectation that some of the cottages can and will be restored to house homeless families before spring abides. A report in the Sacramento Bee tells us ... Some [of the cottages] have extensive mold, a county analysis showed. It's not clear how the county planned to deal with lead paint and asbestos, [Rancho Cordova] Councilwoman Linda Budge said. Still, hope of getting some of the cottages in shape such that homeless families can move in is in play, though not before New Year's day.  Word of where the money might come from to make needed restorations has not been forthcoming, though it is known that the Winter Shelter Task Force hopes to hold a fundraiser to boost the pool of funds to meet the need to keep homeless people warm and safe. At the end of October, placing families, totalling 105 individuals, was

Ron Russell and Summerhills Realty

Readers of this blog should be aware that I am receiving some information that Summerhills Realty and someone named Ron E. Russell is using this blog as a reference in an effort to scam homeless people.  Be aware that Mr. Russell and his business is cited as a possible perpetrator of fraud by a website called Ripoff Report .  See this webpage .  Also, there is this claim of fraud against Ron Russell Properties at the website BizClaims - Latest scams, frauds and complaints . Please be aware that the information of being 'ripped off'' may be coming from only one source is coming from multiple sources, with perhaps as many as twelve persons/couples now pursuing legal action after paying thousands of dollars for services and receiving none of the services that were promised/contracted. While I know neither Mr. Russell nor Summerhills, I do know that an inordinate number of “in links” from readers of this blog have come via summerhillsrealestate.com for quite some time.  I

Loaves & Fishes implicates Buddhism and Jack Kornfield in its June Donations Plea.

The Sukhothai Traimit Golden Buddha was found in a clay-and-plaster overlaid buddha statue in 1959, after laying in wait for 500 years. It's huge and heavy: just under 10 feet tall and weighs 5 1/2 tons. At the beginning of their June newsletter , Loaves and Fishes relates a story, taken from the beginning of renowned Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield's 2008 book The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology . The first part and first chapter in Kornfield's book is "Part I: Who are you really?" and chapter 1 is called "Nobility: Our Original Goodness," which ought to serve as a clue to what the beginning of the book is about, not that that sentiment isn't strewn through-out the chapter, section and book such that what Kornfield is telling us should be crystal clear. Somehow, the not-ready-for-primetime management at Loaves & Fishes have managed to use Kornfield's wise and kindly words in a way that mangles th