Fall 2014 WPA Opens Transitional Shelter for Homeless Women
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www.wpaonline.org Fall 2014 WPA Opens Transitional Shelter for Homeless Women This August, WPA re-opened its historic brownstone, Hopper Home, as a 38- bed transitional shelter for single, homeless women with criminal justice histories. Hopper Home is a landmarked Greek revival townhouse where WPA has continually operated for 140 years. Hopper Home was originally operated as a halfway house and more recently was the site of WPA’s residential alternative to incarceration program. The Hopper Home program provides safe and supportive transitional housing; promotes immediate stabilization and long-term self-sufficiency; and helps women identify and move into permanent housing. The program’s approach reflects a thorough understanding of the life experiences of criminal justice-involved women. Accounting for the intersection of mental illness, substance abuse, histories of abuse and trauma, and economic marginality that underlie a woman’s criminal behavior and housing instability, Hopper Home provides services that are gender-responsive and based on research with this specific population. At Hopper Home, residents have the opportunity to define their goals and learn, practice, and integrate independent living skills in a structured, supportive, and safe environment. Hopper Home Restoration WPA wishes to thank the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for the generous grant which made possible the restoration of Hopper Home’s portico. WPA is also grateful for the generous planning efforts of Easton Architects and the exceptional craftsmanship provided by Progeny Restoration Corporation. Women’s Prison Association | 110 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003 Phone: 646.292.7742 | Fax: 646.292.7763 | Email: [email protected] WPA Graduates 11th Class of the Women’s Advocacy Project For more than a decade, WPA has run the Women’s Advocacy Project (WAP). WAP is a leadership training program for formerly incarcerated women. WAP was created by WPA in direct response to a desire among clients to share their experiences and contribute to efforts to strengthen their communities. WAP provides women the opportunity to harness their personal experiences to work toward reform of the systems they have come to know from the inside including the criminal justice, child welfare, and housing systems. While contributing a voice to local and national criminal justice 2014 WAP Graduates policy discussions that is too often missing, participants also gain self-confidence and new perspectives on their past experiences. Through their involvement, participants build valuable leadership, writing, research, communication, and analytical thinking skills that open up new opportunities and contribute to their long-term success. This August, the 11th WAP class completed coursework and produced an original public service announcement about employment rights. The group explored different leadership styles, public speaking and communication skills, and spent time identifying their own leadership approach. They learned about branches of government, policy analysis, and forms of advocacy. Throughout the course, participants explored areas of social change important to them and discussed the ways in which they could effect change as individuals and as a group. The Women’s Advocacy Project is funded by Eileen Fisher as part of their “Activating Leadership” grants program. Back to School Appeal Update WPA’s Back to School Appeal funds the purchase of backpacks, school supplies, and services for over 500 children per year. These services improve educational outcomes for children and strengthen families. Thanks to your support, children whose mothers have criminal justice involvement can enter the classroom with a sense of possibility, equality, and the tools needed for academic success. This year’s appeal featured a special edition newsletter from the kids at WPA’s Huntington House and raised $7,720. Thank you to all who gave to this important campaign. Our last newsletter, the Back to School edition, highlighted a visit from Kira Kazantsev (then Miss New York) to Huntington House for a day of painting with the kids who live there. In September, Kira became Miss America and has been advocating for women with domestic violence histories. Kira is mindful that 75% of incarcerated women, or 3 in 4, have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner and remains a great friend to WPA. On October 21st, WPA’s Emerging Philanthropists will host a gallery event featuring the artwork that Kira and the children created this summer. Kira Kazantsev, Miss America, completes her interpretation of Van Gogh’s “Wheat Field with Cypresses.” JusticeHome Celebrates First Class of Graduates “My case: it closed doors. JusticeHome opened them back up again. The program doesn’t expect you to do a 360, it expects you to do a 180 - to change.” - Tamika, 2014 JusticeHome Graduate JusticeHome is a unique, community-based program designed specifically for women who are facing a minimum of six months of incarceration as a result of felony charges. WPA staff assesses a woman’s specific risks and strengths, promotes healthy coping strategies to address histories of trauma, and employs evidence-based cognitive behavioral group interventions. The program features additional opportunities to benefit families and communities including intensive home-based interventions, ongoing assessments of child and family well-being, and the promotion of positive parenting skills. All of these efforts lead to increased family stability and cost much less than sending a woman to prison. The program builds upon WPA’s years of experience in providing intensive home-based preventive child welfare services under contract with the NYC Administration for Children’s Services. In August, JusticeHome celebrated its first class of graduates with a picnic in Prospect Park where they shared their challenges and successes. After six months in the JusticeHome program, a woman’s risk of committing a crime is reduced by 45%. Rather than serving time in prison, WPA’s JusticeHome graduates are home with their children and embarking upon new jobs, school, and continuing support services. To date, not one JusticeHome participant has reengaged with the criminal justice system. “I was going home with information in my pocket. It had me going home and saying to my family, ‘this is what we have to do, this is what works.’” - Sabrina, 2014 JusticeHome Graduate Ask a New Yorker, “who makes the best burgers and shakes in New York City?” and they will likely tell you, “Shake Shack.” On July 28th, a group of kids from WPA kicked off summer vacation with a trip to Shake Shack in Battery Park City. They were treated to a special kids’ menu which included cheeseburgers, french fries, homemade lemonade, and milkshakes. Afterward, volunteers from Goldman Sachs chaperoned the kids on a private tour of the National Museum of the American Indian. The tour started inside a traditional teepee and included a visit to the interactive storytelling and dance room. The kids had a ball imitating the ceremonial dances and learning about diet, clothing, weaponry, and artwork. Corporate Partnerships Thank you to our new friends at LexisNexis, the world’s largest electronic database for legal and public record-related information. This September, 22 volunteers from LexisNexis packed Welcome Home Kits, weeded our garden, made food deliveries, and helped us prepare for our Art Gallery event on October 21st. To learn more about corporate volunteerism at WPA, please visit: www.wpaonline.org/about/ corporate-partners. Photo credit: Antoinette Isable-Jones for the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies The Florence Roberts Memorial Fund Florence Roberts spent much of her career at Legal Services NYC serving low-income families, incarcerated women, and victims of domestic violence. She headed the family law units of two Legal Services NYC offices, first in Brooklyn and later in Queens, promoting the parental rights of mothers and domestic violence victims at a time when family services received little funding or resources. She started one of the City’s first uncontested divorce programs; it prioritized domestic violence victims as its clients. In retirement, Florence volunteered with the Incarcerated Mothers Law Project of Volunteers of Legal Service, often visiting women in prison to advise them on their parental rights. She also served on the advisory board of the New York Asian Women’s Center, which helps women and children escape domestic abuse. Florence received several awards throughout her career. In 1994, she was honored with the New York City Bar Association’s Legal Services Award, and in 2001 she received the “In the Trenches” Award from the Lawyers Committee Against Domestic Violence. The purpose of the Florence Roberts Memorial Fund is to alleviate the day to day hardships that burden women returning to their communities, and their families. In accordance with the wishes of the Roberts family, the funds will be distributed to women who demonstrate financial need for a particular purpose, including but not limited to emergency rental assistance, educational activities, and furniture and clothing needs. Whenever possible, assistance will be given in the form of payment for the goods or services needed rather than cash assistance. All donations to the fund will be used for these purposes. To contribute, please visit www.givlet.org/FlorenceRoberts or send a check payable to “Women’s Prison Association”