For Prisoners Released due to Covid-19, a Different World Awaits

“We are providing the bulk of our services virtually, by phone and video meetings, but there are some things that we’re not able to do right now because of access to correctional facilities in particular,” says Susan Gottesfeld, executive vice president and chief program officer at The Osborne Association in New York. “We are working to try to provide as much as we can, but it’s challenging and limited.”

At the end of March, the Empire State announced the release of up to 1,100 low-level parole violators. In New York City specifically, Gottesfeld says emergency housing via the Emergency Management and Homeless Services departments is being provided for people released who need to be isolated due to possible infection.

Still, housing is only one factor at play. Those who need to enroll in Medicaid, for example, need to do so remotely due to office closures, she says, and finding employment at a time of rapid unemployment can be difficult.

“Part of what we’re doing as an organization and with others is cataloging what services are up and running in which boroughs and neighborhoods so that when people call our hotline, we can direct them to those available resources,” Gottesfeld says.

The Osborne Association’s substance use disorder program, as well as individual counseling programs, are all running on the same schedules with people joining virtually, Gottesfeld says, though a new challenge surrounds the “technological capacity of constituents: How tech-savvy are they, and do they have the devices?”

“For those with long, recent periods of incarceration, they’re pretty far behind on their ability to use technology, so we’re having to provide extra support to folks to get them connected virtually,” Gottesfeld says.

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