You are receiving this newsletter because you are a member of the New York State Reentry Resource Center, a network of more than 2,000 advocates and direct service providers from all around the state. Each month, we bring you resource highlights, news, and policy updates from the online resource center.
Note: If your Internet browser blocks pop-ups, hold the Ctrl key while you click on individual resources to download them directly.
*Resource Highlights*
Mentoring Former Prisoners - A Guide for Reentry Programs: Drawing on the experience of the 11 sites involved in Public/Private Ventures' Ready4Work prisoner reentry demonstration, as well as established best practices in the mentoring field, this manual provide guidelines for practitioners interested in developing a mentoring program to support former prisoners and enhance the effectiveness of other reentry services. Click here to read the manual.
'Redemption' in an Era of Widespread Criminal Background Checks: This study published in the National Institute of Justice Journal examines at what point past criminal records should no longer be a factor in employment. The authors state that their "preliminary findings and ongoing research offer an opportunity to think about when formerly incarcerated individuals might be 'redeemed' for employment purposes. Click here to read the study.
Guilty by Immigration Status: This report by The Human Rights Immigrant Community Action
Network details how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has, over the last eight years, created an "immigration control regime" in which it is promoting the criminalization of immigration status as a means of detaining and deporting individuals for often minor offenses. With the detention of immigrants taking place in record numbers and the militarization of the U.S. border on the rise, the report also describes how DHS and other police, public officials, and agencies, routinely trumped civil rights and constitutional protections in order to question, detain, and/or jail individuals based solely on their perceived or actual immigration status. Click here to read the report.
National Reentry Resource Center: The Council for State Governments has launched The National Reentry Resource Center-- an initiative to advance the safe and successful return of individuals from prisons and jails to their communities. The resource center will provide advocates, and communities across the country with comprehensive resources to support successful reentry and reduce recidivism. Click here to see the website.
Remember to visit Past Resources of the Week for highlighted reports, toolkits, and training materials from the past year.
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*Upcoming Events*
Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy and Training Program: Howie the Harp, which provides training and support services that have successfully helped hundreds of mental health consumers find meaningful, permanent employment in the New York area is seeking interested applicants for Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy and Training Program for the upcoming class beginning in January. The program trains consumers of mental health services with experience in the criminal justice system to become peer counselors. Recruitment is ongoing, and orientations are every Friday. For more information, please contact Cecilia Hoskins at 212-865-0775 ext.2105 or choskins@communityaccess.org.
Coming Home Roundtable: Community Service Society's monthly Reentry Roundtable discussion will feature a discussion on ComALERT and alternatives to incarceration. Charles J. Hynes, the district attorney for Kings County, will participate as a guest speaker. The event will be held on November 18, 2009 at 1PM. To RSVP, please contact Gabriel Torres-Rivera at 212-614-5306 or grivera@cssny.org.
The Art of Justice Series: "IL FURIOSO"--The Birth of Modern Justice: This performance is part of the Gerald W. Lynch Theater's Fall 2009 season of The Art of Justice Series, which integrates the performing arts and issues on justice. "Il Furioso" is a dual-language adaptation of Aeschylus' "Eumenides." It uses drumming, dance and Aeschylus' classical text, with a new bilingual translation spoken in English and Spanish, to dig up the roots of justice, from bloody revenge to fair trail in multi-tribal Athens. The performance will be held daily from November 18 - 22, 2009 at 8PM. Tickets are $10 ($5 for CUNY students), and can be purchased by calling John Jay's Communication and Theater Arts department at 212-237-8363. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu/theater.php.
Prisoners Are People Too! Community Education Meeting: Monthly meetings include documentary films and guest speakers discussing criminal justice and prison issues. The event will be held on November 23 at 6:30 PM. For more information, contact Karima Amin at karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org or 716-834-8438.
National Network for Safe Communities: First Annual Conference: This conference will provide, for the first time, a national forum on the gang violence reduction and drug market elimination strategies developed by David Kennedy and implemented in many jurisdictions around the country - including Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, High Point, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Providence, and Seattle. These jurisdictions have joined forces as the National Network for Safe Communities to chart a course for a new national crime policy. The conference will be held on December 2nd and 3rd from 9am -5PM. For more information and online registration, please click here.
A Natural Experiment on Residential Change and Recidivism: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina: Part of the Prisoner Reentry Institute's Occasional Series on Reentry Research, this panel will address the effect that location has on recidivism. Men and women coming home from prison often return to the same geographic place they lived prior to their incarceration. This research explores the impact returning to the same place has on recidivism rates in pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans. Panelists include David Kirk, a University of Texas professor who has researched this phenomenon, Andrea Evans, the chair of the New York State Board of Parole, and Dorick Scarpelli, the program director of NYC Justice Corps. Please RSVP to Amelia Thompson at 212-484-1399 or amthompson@jjay.cuny.edu.
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* Employment Opportunities*
Associate Director of Prison Monitoring with the Prison Visiting Project, The Correctional Association of New York: The Correctional Association seeks a committed professional to work as an Associate Director with the Prison Visiting Project.
Program Associate, Rikers Project, Immigrant Defense Project: The Immigrant Defense Project a program associate to staff its new project to protect and promote the rights of immigrants held at Rikers Island jail in New York City.
Remember to visit Reentry Net for full calendar listings and new job opportunities!
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