December 2020

A Safe Place To Land - New Housing And Homecoming Programs

Thousands of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers are homeless upon their release. Though Osborne is underway on our construction project to create 135 beds of transitional reentry housing at our Fulton Community Reentry Center, we know that NYC will not build its way out of this crisis. And while family is often the reentry plan of first and last resort, time and distance may have frayed family ties, and homelessness statistics and families themselves tell us that they do not always have the resources to add the expense and uncertainty of welcoming a loved one into their homes.


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Thousands of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers are homeless upon their release. Though Osborne is underway on our construction project to create 135 beds of transitional reentry housing at our Fulton Community Reentry Center, we know that NYC will not build its way out of this crisis. And while family is often the reentry plan of first and last resort, time and distance may have frayed family ties, and homelessness statistics and families themselves tell us that they do not always have the resources to add the expense and uncertainty of welcoming a loved one into their homes.
To address these issues, Osborne has long advocated for “Kinship Reentry,” a novel solution based on the “kinship foster care” model that allows relatives who are fostering children to receive the same support that unrelated foster parents receive. The Kinship Reentry model addresses the underlying challenges that may discourage families from offering people coming home from prison a safe place to land. In 2018, our project took a huge step forward when the Manhattan District Attorney/Criminal Justice Investment Initiative awarded us a grant to create an operating plan—a planning process that allowed us to turn our faith in families into a comprehensive model that addressed some of the idea’s biggest challenges.

Last month, Trinity Church Wall Street, a philanthropic partner that has supported some of our most ambitious projects, provided a $1 million grant that allows us to finally begin our Kinship Reentry Pilot. Their grant enables us to offer families direct cash payments, counseling, and support services they need to provide stability to returning loved ones. As part of that support, peer workers who draw from their own experiences welcoming a loved one home will work with families to understand and address the effects of prison and reintegration challenges. In addition to diverting people from shelter beds that would cost the City at least five times more, it reinforces what we already know, that people who return to supportive home environments have the best chance to rebuild their lives and thrive after incarceration.
As Covid-19 puts even more pressure on reentry supports, we are so excited to begin this transformative project. We thank Trinity Church Wall Street for their commitment to innovation and demonstrated belief in all people’s fundamental right to safe and stable housing.
The Poughkeepsie Journal covered Osborne’s Malcolm Davis as he distributed gifts from our annual toy drive to children visiting family members at Fishkill Correctional Facility. Special thanks to all our toy donors and the United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region for their financial support.
On December 10, Osborne hosted an online panel on the relationship between incarceration and homelessness. Moderated by New Yorker editor David Remnick, NYC Council Member Vanessa Gibson and Osborne Board Members Frank Baker & Mathew Wambua discussed the importance of ensuring that people leaving prison and jail have access to housing and resources. Excerpts from Coming Home are now available online.