The New York Public Library Connections Connections 2015 2015
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The New York Public Library Connections Connections 2015 Connections 2015 A guide for formerly incarcerated people in New York City The New York Public Library Public York New The Twentieth Edition Winter/Spring 2015 The New York Public Library Connections 2015 A guide for formerly incarcerated people in New York City Twentieth Edition edited by the Correctional Services Staff of The New York Public Library Connections 2015 Single copies of Connections are available free of charge to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people throughout New York State, as well as to staff members of agencies and others who provide services to them. Send all requests to: Correctional Library Services The New York Public Library 445 Fifth Avenue, 6th floor New York, NY 10016 Connections is also available online at: nypl.org/corrections CONNECTIONS 2015 CONNECTIONS 2 © The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, 2015 All rights reserved The name “The New York Public Library” and the representation of the lion appearing in this work are registered marks and the property of The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Twentieth edition published 2015 ISBN: 978-0-87104-795-3 Cover design by Eric Butler About This Directory The purpose of Connections is to offer people leaving jail and prison helpful resources available to them in New York City. Every agency listed in Connections has been personally contacted in order to provide you with current and relevant information. Where list- ings could not be verified by phone, the organization websites were accessed to cull basic program and contact information. Please be advised that the moment Connections hits the street, it is out of date. Organizations change constantly and it’s up to you to ask questions to the agency you contact for the most up to date information on services. Connections contains only a selective listing of resources in New York City. By reading this guide, we hope you are encouraged to explore further and to become aware of possibilities you might otherwise have overlooked. We have added agencies and services in Connections that we found relatively easy to contact, hoping that you will not be discouraged by wrong numbers or excessive phone trans- fers. As always, if you feel we have missed including a particularly valuable resource in Connections, let us know. If you represent an agency that would like to be included in Connections, please contact us: Correctional Library Services, The New York Public Library, 445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016. ABOUT THIS DIRECTORY Due to annual budget restrictions, our print run is limited. Therefore, 3 if you are an agency working with formerly incarcerated people we ask that you use the online pdf version of Connections (see below) with clients when possible rather than requesting bulk shipments of the book. If you have the means to do your own print run of Connections, we would be glad to provide you with the printable file. If you are incarcerated at a New York City Department of Corrections city jail, please ask for a copy of the book from the programs office in your facility. Connections can be found online: nypl.org/corrections People frequently write asking for publications similar to Connections that cover areas of New York State outside of the City. We know of the following guides: Making Moves: Handbook for Ex-Offenders Returning to the Rochester and Monroe County Area, 2012. Extension Outreach Department, Monroe County Library System, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604. Online at: www3.libraryweb.org/ uploadedFiles/MCLS/Central/Departments/Extension_and_ Outreach/Making%20Moves.pdf Connections: A Guide to Transitional Services in Erie County, 2013- 14. Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Institutional Services, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203. Spanish available from 2011. Online at: www.buffalolib.org/content/institutional-services Pioneer Library System publishes two Community Connections directories: Ontario/Wayne Counties (2013) and Livingston/Wyoming Counties (2014). Contact Outreach Department, Pioneer Library System, 2557 State Route 21, Canandaigua, NY 14424, specifying which county you are returning to. Online at: www.pls-net.org/ outreach/community Finding Your Way Reentry Guide, 2014: Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties. In English and Spanish. 119 E. Green SIMILAR PUBLICATIONS Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. Online at: www.flls.org/outreach/#reentry 4 Hudson Valley Connections, 2014: Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam and Ulster Counties. Outreach Services Department, Mid- Hudson Library System, 103 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. Online at: www.midhudson.org/hvconnections Coming Back to Ulster County 2007-08. Use with Caution. Restorative Justice Group of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills, 320 Sawkill Road, Kintson, NY 12401. Online at: www.uucckingston.org/comingback.html On Your Own, 2012-13, Capital District: Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Greene and Columbia Counties. Center for Law and Justice, Pine West Plaza, Building 2, Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, NY 12205. Online at: www.cflj. org/resources-and-publications/resources/ Westchester Connections (2004). Use with caution. Westchester Connections, PO Box 102, Katonah, NY 10536. Online at: www. wccdinc.net/WConn%20TOC.htm Rockland County (2013). Rockland County Reentry Taskforce, c/o District Attorney’s Office 11 New Hempstead Road, New City, NY 10956-3664. Online at: www.informationrockland.com/docs/ Re-Entry_Services.pdf If your county of residence is not listed here, you may also write to your County Re-entry Task Force, listed below: Nassau Re-entry Task Force: Department of Social Services, 60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Suite #240, Uniondale, NY 11553-3653 Phone: (516) 227-7025 Suffolk Re-entry Task Force: Probation Department, Box 205, Yaphank, NY 11980-0205. Phone: (631) 852-5100 Broome Re-entry Task Force: Department of Mental Health, 229-231 State Street, 6th Floor, Binghamton, NY 13901-2777. Phone: (607) 778-1364 COUNTY RE-ENTRY FORCES TASK 5 Niagara Re-entry Task Force: Community Missions, 1570 Buffalo Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14303-1516 Oneida Re-entry Task Force: 209 Elizabeth Street, Utica, NY 13501- 4328. Phone: (315) 798-3644 Onondaga Re-entry Task Force: District Attorney’s Office, 505 South State Street, Syracuse, NY 13202-2598. Phone: (315) 435-2985 Ext. 153 Orange Re-entry Task Force: RECAP, Inc. 280 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Newburgh, NY 12550-8203. Phone: (845) 421-6247 Acknowledgments Connections was first published in 1982 by Stephan Likosky, retired Correctional Services Librarian for The New York Public Library. It has been updated by Sarah Ball, Emily Jacobson, Joshua Peach, Anita Battagliola, Kevin Saw, Lauren Restivo, Louise Stamp, Brian Hasbrouck and other dedicated people. Significant work on past editions was done by Nicholas Higgins, without whom this current edition would not be possible. Much support and learning was gained from NYPL’s affiliation with the New York Reentry Education Network (NYREN). The staff of each NYREN member organization consis- tently provide insight into the needs of our patrons and the exciting changes in the NYC service provider community. The original design and typography was created by Kara Van Woerden. We would like to thank Eric Butler for his work on the design of this year’s edition. Many thanks go to the Library’s Graphics team for their assistance. A huge thanks to the BookOps and Logistics teams who are respon- sible for its distribution. Funding for Connections was derived from grants to serve City/ County and State Correctional Facilities from the New York State Education Department, Division of Library Development. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 Contents Introduction . 8 Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, The New York Public Library . 11 And sings the tune without the words, Organizations for Formerly And never stops at all, Incarcerated People . 17 And sweetest in the gale is heard; Finding a Job . 33 And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird Education . 60 That kept so many warm. Housing. 74 I’ve heard it in the chillest land, Financial Assistance . 89 And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, Health . 98 It asked a crumb of me. Counseling & Family Services 114 —Emily Dickinson Addictions . 126 Legal Services. 142 Women . 155 LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender People . 167 CONNECTIONS 2015 CONNECTIONS People with Disabilities . 173 7 Consumer Affairs . 183 Social & Cultural Resources . 190 Transportation . 199 The Job Search . 201 Index . 278 Introduction by Sarah Ball History: Connections was first published in 1982 by Steve Likosky, The New York Public Library’s first prison librarian. The first edition was a stable-bound, 42-page list of organizations available to help individuals in times of transition and crisis. Today Connections lists over 500 agencies and services, reflecting the network of reentry support in New York City as it has grown and evolved. In 1982, when the need for Connections became clear to the NYPL, the total US inmate population was at 500,000. By 1990 that number doubled to around 1 million. By 2010 it doubled once more. By the end of the year in 2010 there were 2,266,800 adults incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and county jails (not including adolescents in custody), plus almost 5 million adults on probation or parole. Every community is affected by incarceration—personally, collec- tively, financially and ethically. Fortunately, people returning home to New York City have an amazing wealth of resources to ease the strain of justice involvement and rebuild healthy paths. Accessing those resources can be overwhelming, but also, life-changing. We hope Connections is a trustworthy place to start. Ossining, NY, November 2014: In the hours between my morning and afternoon programs at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, I sit by the INTRODUCTION side of the Hudson River and wait. This morning’s presentation was 8 a book talk, recommending a few classic novels, to be discussed on my next trip up.