Thank You for Your Generous Donations to Family ReEntry's Year-End Appeal

Your generous donations to Family ReEntry’s 

Year-End Appeal help us to better serve 

families affected by the criminal justice system

Thank you for your support!  

Donations: familyreentry.org

Family ReEntry Fall 2017 Newsletter - Serving the Justice Community Since 1984. Bridgeport, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury, Derby, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Family ReEntry Fall 2017 Newsletter

 

Serving the Justice Community Since 1984. 

Bridgeport, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury, Derby, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Family ReEntry Cocktail Reception for Philip C. Potter, Jr. in Greenwich, Nov. 9, 5 - 7 pm

The Board of Directors of Family ReEntry invites you for a cocktail reception Honoring Philip C. Potter, Jr. Recipient of the Elizabeth Bush Volunteerism Award Thursday, November ninth  five o’clock to seven o’clock Tomes ~ Higgins House 216 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich   RSVP Diana Whitney 929-263-5211 dianawhitney@familyreentry.org

Donations gratefully accepted in honor of Philip Potter and in support of Family ReEntry’s vital programs

DONATE

Family ReEntry’s mission is to develop, implement, and share sustainable, cost-effective solutions for the unprecedented numbers of people involved in the criminal justice system, which empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities. For more info please visit our website at familyreentry.org and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. All proceeds go to supporting these valuable programs.

Advocacy | Programs | Opportunities | Contact

Family ReEntry, Inc. |  jeffgrant@familyreentry.org  | 501(c)3 Organization |  203-290-0865

   

Criminal Justice from the Inside Out: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Launch New Criminal Justice Radio Show

New Haven Independent: 

Criminal Justice from the Inside Out

Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant 

Launch New Criminal Justice Radio Show

First & Third Fridays 9 am

WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven

livestreaming everywhere at:

 newhavenindependent.org

Jeff Grant & Babz Rawls Ivy

Babz Rawls-Ivy is the editor of the Inner-City News, the host of daily WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk,” and a frequent guest on WNHH shows. Jeff Grant is the executive director of Family ReEntry, a social service organization in Bridgeport working with people who have gotten out of prison, and helping to prevent them from going back in.

They’ve both also served prison sentences themselves. They are now co-hosts of a new show on WNHH, “Criminal Justice Insider,” that tackles criminal justice issues from the inside out.

“Criminal Justice Insider” will air once a month on WNHH, featuring Rawls-Ivy, Grant, and a series of guests as they talk about the lives of people in prison and how it affects not only the prisoners themselves, but the family.

When one family member goes to prison, “the whole family goes to prison,” they agreed on their debut episode.

They will also talk about the lives of people who have gotten out, and the factors that contribute to them going back in — or staying out for good by rebuilding their lives, a reality both of them have lived.

Click below to listen to or watch the first episode on SoundCloud and Facebook Live.

_____________

Join us as We Take It Personally on Criminal Justice Insider with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant, First and Third Fridays at 9 am, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, live-streaming on newhavenindependent.org. Call-in # (203) 872-7356‬. On Nov. 3rd CT State Legislator Robyn Porter will be our guest. Other guests coming up will include U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, CT Commissioner of Corrections Scott Semple, Co-Executive Director of the Katal Center Lorenzo Jones, Carlah Esdaile-Bragg of Cornell Scott Hill Health, CEO of Flikshop Marcus Bullock, Christopher Llinas, Esq., and many more.

Criminal Justice Insider Radio with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant. Starting Weds, Oct. 4th

Criminal Justice Insider Radio 

with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant

Starting Weds, Oct. 4th

Criminal Justice Insider Radio 
with Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant. 
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 4th, 9 am. 
WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven or livestream: http://www.newhavenindependent.org. 

Jeff Grant & Babz Rawls Ivy

Sponsored by Family ReEntry

Envisioning a First Chance Society.

Hartford Courant: Connecticut Budget Impasse is a Public Safety Risk

Connecticut Budget Impasse is a Public Safety Risk

Letter to the Editor reprinted from the  Hartford Courant, August 2, 2017

As the Executive Director of Family ReEntry, a Connecticut 

criminal justice nonprofit, and as a formerly incarcerated person myself, I am greatly concerned about the state legislature's inability/unwillingness to pass a budget.

In the criminal justice sector, this represents a huge public safety risk as people are released from prisons in ever larger numbers (a good thing) without adequate access to critical cost-effective wraparound services such as substance abuse and mental health counseling, career training, housing, family services, etc.

It should be no surprise that, when left with no other option, these individuals often return to the very behavior that landed them in prison in the first place (a very bad thing).

As the cost to incarcerate a person can be up to 10 times the cost of nonprofit-provided re-entry services, it is obvious that it is in our short-term and long-term financial best interest to reinvest state budget savings in quality community corrections.

Each day without a budget and adequate funding of Connecticut's nonprofits wastes the precious few resources we have at huge fiscal cost - and at even larger costs in human suffering and public safety.

Jeff Grant, JD, M Div

Executive Director - Family ReEntry, Inc.

75 Washington Avenue

Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604

familyreentry.org

jeffgrant@familyreentry.org

(office) 203-290-0855

(mobile) 203-957-0162

First Do No Harm: How Can the Connecticut Criminal Justice Community and State Government Work Together to Get Through the Fiscal Crisis? An Open Letter

First Do No Harm: How Can the Connecticut Criminal Justice Community and State Government Work Together to Get Through the Fiscal Crisis? An Open Letter

An Open Letter to Governor Malloy, State of Connecticut Legislators, and Members of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Community: The Hippocratic Oath compels those in the medical profession to make certain that they first do no harm. A just and ethical principle to which all professionals should pay heed. History, as well as Connecticut’s recent experience, shows that rescissions to cost effective programs has far reaching detrimental collateral and economic implications. Once cut, restoration simply does not happen. These vital and proven programs will likely vanish. It costs about $34,687 per year to incarcerate an individual versus less than $5,000 per year to provide services to that same individual in the community.  Too often, economic downturns compel funding cuts to social services, cuts that are both inhumane and end up driving up costs to our state in the long run. Many services have already been reduced to the bare bones over the past several years as a result of the last recession. The current series of proposed cuts to community-based prevention, intervention, diversion and reentry criminal justice programs – as well as to including and mental health and addiction services – will lead to more people unduly suffering, costing the state (and the taxpayers) significantly more money in the end than it would to help provide for their basic needs. People returning from prison are among society’s most vulnerable – as are their families.  After having served their sentence they are now trying to rebuild their lives with the stigma of a felony conviction that functions as a scarlet letter. Many of these individuals live in the poorest, most crime-ridden neighborhoods in our state, with limited opportunities – which is in part why they became susceptible to crime in the first place. Many or most also suffer from mental health issues and addiction problems. Without public policies that promote social cohesion and well-being for individuals who have been in prison, research shows that they will soon return to the criminal behavior that landed them in prison in the first place. Nonprofits already do the job with very little funding and resources. Research, for which Connecticut has been at the forefront, categorically demonstrates that good community criminal justice programs (crime prevention, reentry, mental health, substance abuse treatment, diversion programs) reduce recidivism and incarceration rates thereby saving the state (and taxpayers) money (Fagan & Buchanan, 2016); a lot of money in both the short and long term. These programs have a positive return on our investment by eliminating the costs of returning these individuals back to prison or the court system, and helping individuals become productive, tax-paying citizens. Long-term benefit-cost ratios for some community reentry programs in CT are as high as $405.23 for every dollar invested (see “Results First Benefit-Cost Analyses of Adult Criminal and Juvenile Justice Evidence-Based Programs”). Connecticut can be the nation’s leader in criminal justice reform.  We propose that that the state and the nonprofit sector jointly adopt a motto of “First Do No Harm.” While we recognize the challenges and competing priorities within social service programs, let’s not rush to reduce spending on or cut critical interventions that have been built over thirty years of thoughtful planning supported by research and measurable outcomes. Instead, let’s create a re-envisioned public-private-nonprofit partnership that is committed to enlightened policy decisions in our state by investing today in programs that work to help reduce recidivism and provide health coverage and addiction services to those in need, so as to help ensure our future prosperity as a state and a country. We urge the legislature’s passing of the mini-budget this Thursday as an important next step! We at Family ReEntry welcome all thoughts and comments. My contact information is below. Respectfully and gratefully submitted, Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Executive Director Family ReEntry, Inc. 75 Washington Street Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604 (office) 203-290-0855 (mobile) 203-957-0162 jeffgrant@familyreentry.org familyreentry.org

learn more

Citations: Clark, A., Janicki, M. M., & Noonan, J. (2016). Connecticut Results First Benefit-cost Analyses of Adult Criminal and Juvenile Justice Evidence-based Programs, Pursuant to Public Act 15-5, June Special Session, Connecticut General Statutes, Sections 4-68r and-68s. Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Central Connecticut State University. Durose, M. R., Cooper, A. D., & Snyder, H. N. (2014). Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 30 States in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Fagan, A. A., & Buchanan, M. (2016). What Works in Crime Prevention?. Criminology & Public Policy, 15(3), 617-649.

Family ReEntry’s mission is to develop, implement, and share sustainable, cost-effective solutions for the unprecedented numbers of people involved in the criminal justice system, which empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities. For more info please visit our website at familyreentry.org and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. All proceeds go to supporting these valuable programs.

DONATE

Advocacy | Programs | Opportunities | Contact

Family ReEntry, Inc.  |  jeffgrant@familyreentry.org  |   501(c)3 Organization  |  203-290-0865

   

Family ReEntry’s 2016-17 Annual Appeal: We Need Your Help!

Family ReEntry’s 2016-17 Annual Appeal

The Problem Even as the Connecticut government is closing prisons and reducing the prison population to the lowest level since the 1970s – a good thing – the fiscal crisis has caused it to terminate the funding for and close EVERY community-based nonresidential prisoner reentry behavioral health program in the state. (Family ReEntry’s residential and intervention programs were unaffected.) This means thousands of people, many or most of them people of color, will be released from jails and prisons this year without access to mental health services, substance abuse counseling, life skills training, family therapy, housing opportunities, education, or even minimum wage jobs. Without this critical support, research shows that most will likely recidivate and will return to prison in record numbers…but not before they re-engage in the very behavior for which they were incarcerated in the first place. A very bad thing – for everyone.

“With the help of Family Reentry, I was able to finally have my first shot at honest employment. The re-entry team (which has become my own family) gave me the push I needed to go to college and work hard to be where I want to be in life. Family ReEntry is filled with people that are willing to help, support, encourage and motivate anyone who needs them.” —Tavon Williams  (Warehouse Worker, CDI & full time student at HCC — released March 2016)

The Solution With fewer government dollars to support our mission, Family ReEntry is getting creative. We are seeking out and finding innovative solutions for these critical problems. Our new First Chance Society initiative is designed to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of incarceration by giving at-risk youth and families a first chance at the kind of opportunities that they may have been denied because of poverty, race and/or zip code. And, giving returning citizens the first chance they may have never had before their incarceration. We are growing our award-winning programs – Family ReEntry is opening four new intervention programs with even more new programs on the horizon. And we are up at the Capitol intensely advocating for criminal justice reform and fairness for all.

“I was officially hired in October full-time as a driver for the lumber yard. I am proud to say I am currently employed today because of the opportunity Family ReEntry afforded me.” —Marcellus Ruffin  (Driver, Northeast Building Supplies — released June 2014)

Family ReEntry Needs Your Help. At this time, when we and the people we serve need your help more than ever, we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to Family ReEntry’s 2016-17 Annual Appeal.  Mail your donations to:  Family ReEntry, Inc., 75 Washington Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604 or click here to donate online. Thank you in advance for your donation. I hope to meet you soon and thank you personally. Gratefully, Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Executive Director     Family ReEntry’s mission is to develop, implement, and share sustainable, cost-effective solutions for the unprecedented numbers of people involved in the criminal justice system, which empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities. For more info please visit our website at familyreentry.org and you can follow us onFacebook and Twitter. All proceeds go to supporting these valuable programs. DONATE Advocacy | Programs | Opportunities | Contact Family ReEntry, Inc.  |  jeffgrant@familyreentry.org  |   501(c)3 Organization  |  203-290-0855