May 2022

A Cot Is Not a Home


As the new President and CEO of Osborne, one of my first priorities was to visit our staff and participants on Rikers Island and witness the appalling conditions that have resulted in avoidable violence and death. Osborne’s Rikers Island staff are incredible — passionate, unflappable, unstoppable. In the most challenging of circumstances, they maintain their commitment to creating opportunities for people to rebuild their lives.

Jail facilities are noisy and chaotic. People in jails are experiencing crisis — they endure lengthy waits to attend court hearings, separation from their families, and uncertainty about what will happen to them next. It is challenging to engage people who are in crisis, but our staff facilitate necessary conversations with participants to help them make mindful choices about their lives and circumstances. At the same time, they use evidence-based practices to equip participants with information and support as they prepare to return to their communities.
Osborne’s Jail-Based Services staff returns to work at Rikers Island following the lifting of Covid-19 related restrictions in February, 2022.
I also spent time at our soon-to-open housing programs Marcus Garvey in Brooklyn and the Fulton Community Reentry Center in the Bronx. The contrast between Rikers Island and our housing facilities couldn’t be more stark. Marcus Garvey and Fulton are embedded in their communities and the supportive services that we will make available to residents are designed to address all the aspects of life that a formerly incarcerated person needs to rebuild their lives.

Each of the places where I spent time last week reminded me of the creativity, vision, and importance of our work and reinforced the urgency to address the deep inequities that drive the criminal legal system.

“Just Warming Up!”
Meet Harold McRae during Older Americans Month

At 73 years old, Mr. McRae has had to do a lot more learning and adapting than many people his age. Two years ago, he came home after 42 years and 10 months of incarceration. As he describes it, “When I got out here...I didn’t come out to a more advanced world; I came out to a new universe.” But the challenges of reentry as an older person didn’t squash his passion for cooking or his desire to work. He lights up when detailing his pheasant recipe, and he learned how to sheet rock and do masonry while in prison. With support from Osborne’s Elder Reentry Initiative, Mr. McRae has been living in a “reentry hotel” since he left prison, helping him avoid the shelter system.

Last week, Mr. McRae received news that felt like a dream: he had been accepted into Osborne’s Marcus Garvey housing complex and would soon move into an apartment that he can call home indefinitely.

When asked about aging, he said “When people tell me I’m getting old, [I say] ...getting old? I just got on the planet! I’m just warming up! It’s not time to go anywhere yet.”

News & Events
The Youth Action Council will host a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Thursday, May 19 at 4:30pm to call for the passage of the Protect In-Person Visiting bill (A4250A/S2841A). The rally follows their successful day of advocacy in Albany on April 26. Please show your support for YAC members by attending and joining Thursday’s Call to Action.
Kathy Boudin touched the lives of thousands of people, including but far beyond those incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, through her tireless work advocating for transformative justice.

After Kathy’s passing on May 1, former President & CEO Elizabeth Gaynes published an essay remembering her, and Tanya Krupat, the Director of Osborne’s Center for Justice Across Generations shared her reflection on Kathy’s life and journey.
Grace Detrevarah, Osborne’s LGBTQ Liaison and Senior Peer Educator, was the featured guest in the newest episode of the Graves to Gardens podcast.

Grace shares her personal experience of incarceration and discusses her activism for incarcerated trans people.
Join us in our work to build a justice system that promotes healing, safety, accountability, and real opportunities to thrive.


Archana Jayaram
President & CEO