{"id":16438,"date":"2025-10-25T17:08:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T17:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16438\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T17:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T17:08:07","slug":"reentry-forum-connects-formerly-incarcerated-staten-island-residents-to-community-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/16438\/","title":{"rendered":"Reentry forum connects formerly incarcerated Staten Island residents to community resources"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"LBS3SOMZQBEJ3BMN6FD5PSDSVA\">STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The Office of Neighborhood Safety, in partnership with with New York City Housing Authority, hosted a Family Reentry Forum at Curtis High School in St. George on Oct. 18.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZNSSC2GZJFAJDBG3KU3ZTFXVGQ\">The forum connected those affected by incarceration with resources that would assist in their transition to reentering public society.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"PZUGBLVLFJCCNOCNQ7APKA4M5Q\">The event is a result of the Mayor\u2019s Action Plan for Neighborhood safety. Mayor\u2019s Action Plan collaborates with NYCHA residents, local leaders and New York City agencies to develop solutions aimed at improving the well-being of the community.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Re-entry forum Oct. 18, 2025\" class=\"hero-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PRFS64LS7JFGBJRXOW5A34QQUQ.jpg\"\/>The Office of Neighborhood Safety, in partnership with NYCHA, hosted a Family Re-Entry Forum at Curtis High School in St. George on Saturday, Oct. 18.(Courtesy of Ranti Ogunleye)<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"6SQWZAY4HVHPXDUYEQZ4X5VBRQ\">Residents have been calling for \u201ca more streamlined process that makes it easier for formerly incarcerated NYCHA residents to return home \u2014 especially to rejoin family leases \u2014 and access supports without being re-traumatized by bureaucracy,\u201d according to Ranti Ogunleye, one of the directors of Mayor\u2019s Action Plan within the Office of Neighborhood Safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"W633EXJQCFB6DKVUZTM2QEIHKQ\">For the first half of the event, attendees listened to representatives from NYCHA and the Staten Island Justice Center\u2019s Transformative Reentry Initiative, who shared information on services for those previously involved with the justice system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"WMGWYUIGYVGTHLTJRT6W3NKFXM\">Between presentations, justice-themed poetry provided moments of reflection and hope.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"NTXXP7V7UFFZBCDHFF2XX7NOYE\">After hearing of some potential services, four individuals impacted by the justice system shared personal stories and tips on reform in a panel discussion. The talk ranged in topics, among the notable themes was the desire to establish a path for young individuals reentering society, expand access to jobs for those reentering, ensure reentry agencies act with empathy, as well as the wish to provide access to information to individuals in upstate and federal facilities ahead of release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"NXNQYKJ65VB55N2D2MATV7BQZI\">At one moment, a man who returned home after 37 years of incarceration noted the amount of resources available and said that it was like his birthday. By the end of the forum, the man walked away with connections, a bicycle after his previous bike was stolen, and nearly $500 raised by attendees and partners.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Re-entry forum Oct. 18, 2025\" class=\"hero-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RDE6VQLUQJGPRMCNJXGB6TBDII.jpg\"\/>The Office of Neighborhood Safety, in partnership with NYCHA, hosted a Family Re-Entry Forum at Curtis High School in St. George on Saturday, Oct. 18.(Courtesy of Ranti Ogunleye)<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZGJT5MMTOZCFTAPH57M3BLW4FI\">Joining guests at the event were also community leaders, such as those from True2Life and Malcolm Penn of New York Center for Interpersonal Development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"5NO4ITD5ZRB5LLW6YQVS2E6XDY\">\u201cWe need a clear process for residents coming home from incarceration\u2014something that helps them get back on the lease, reconnect with family, and access the supports they need to rebuild,\u201d a resident from the Mayor\u2019s Action Plan initiative shared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"5QPRJITN2BH7HKCVR5BMXBETTE\">Councilmember Kamillah Hanks concluded the first half of the forum, calling for a boroughwide roundtable on access to jobs and awareness of funding streams that support Black and brown low-income communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MSXZGI5NTVHP3CDGU4G3UGXDIY\">\u201cStaten Island needs a stronger voice in shaping real solutions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"NXL4FDRLINGJVJ4TUJ5EFN4DTM\">The latter half of the event was a resource fair that featured over 20 city agencies and nonprofits offering services. Among those in attendance was the Legal Aid Society, which sealed records and provided legal advice, IDNYC which issued IDs, as well as The Shoppe, which offered free haircuts.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The Office of Neighborhood Safety, in partnership with with New York City Housing Authority,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-16438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}