Meet Osborne Monday: Simone and Christy from Kinship Reentry Housing Program

Last week, we shared our first Meet Osborne Monday LIVE! of the year. New host Ava Lantiere, Community Linkage Specialist with Osborne’s Criminal Justice Initiative, interviewed Christy Mathurin, Harlem Programs Manager & Site Supervisor and Simone Bowman, Kinship Reentry Housing Program Coordinator.

Christy and Simone discussed the launch of one of Osborne’s newest programs, the Kinship Reentry Housing Program. Kinship is a unique pilot program that launched in the summer of 2021 to address two major challenges for people returning home from incarceration: safe and stable housing and reintegration with loved ones in the community.

Based on the “kinship foster care” model, the program helps families address some of the underlying challenges that may discourage them from offering people coming home from prison a safe place to land. Kinship Reentry addresses underlying challenges by providing families with the tools they need to welcome back their returning loved ones: cash payments, counseling, and support services. Currently, more than 40 families throughout New York City are participating in the program right now.

In their interview with Ava, Simone shared an example of the complicated challenges and unique solutions Kinship Reentry offers. A father and son were experiencing friction about behavior that the son carried from his incarceration into the home - the son continued to wear shower shoes while the father interpreted this as his son disrespecting the cleanliness of his home. With the support of Simone and the case manager, the family diffused the tension by discussing the underlying reasoning behind the son’s behavior which provided the father a deeper understanding of his son.

Watch the video here and learn more about the program and how Osborne is supporting families as they welcome back loved ones.