BPL provides a variety of services for formerly incarcerated patrons as well as connections to reentry services outside the library. Please note that many services have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Check with providers about their current programs.
Community Reentry Partners
The Women’s Prison Association provides women involved with the criminal justice system at any stage with the support needed to find housing, find and prepare for employment, reunite with their children, access substance-use and mental health treatment, and learn practical budgeting skills. All services take place within a supportive community of women impacted by the justice system.
Bronx Defenders provides reentry services and advocacy on behalf of individuals eligible for alternative-to-incarceration programs. Call the legal emergency hotline at 347-778-1266 available 24/7. For in-person meetings with one of non-attorney advocates, please call 718-838-7878.
Brooklyn Defender Services provides free legal representation to those who cannot afford an attorney; represents people who have been charged with a crime or are facing child welfare proceedings. Call Criminal Defense Services: 718-254-0700; Family Defense Practice: 347-592-2500; Immigration Practice: 718-564-6290.
Children of Promise serves more than 350 children and their families each year, addressing the specific emotional trauma that can be triggered by losing a parent to incarceration. CPNYC is the only agency in NYC that co-locates a licensed mental health clinic with an after-school program and summer day camp, seamlessly providing access to therapeutic services and youth development all under one roof. Call 718-483-9290.
Center for Community Alternatives promotes reintegrative justice and community-based alternatives-to-incarceration programs serving youth, adults, families in crisis, people with substance use disorder, those with HIV/AIDS. Call 718-858-9658 ext. 401
College and Community Fellowship helps women who have been involved with the justice system earn their college degrees. Call 646-380-7777.
Drive Change is a not-for-profit social enterprise that uses the food truck and hospitality industry to train, employ, and mentor formerly incarcerated young people ages 18–25.
Fortune Society provides comprehensive reentry services. Rap Sheet and Relief from Disability workshops; provides assistance with benefits enrollment; case management; housing; education; employment services; outpatient substance and disorder treatment; outpatient mental health services; family services; creative arts programs; food and nutrition programming; HIV/AIDS services; and alternative-to-incarceration programs. New clients and referrals call 212-691-7554; education services: 347-510-3628; employment services: 347-510-3628; Better Living Center: 718-906-2982; Treatment Services: 347-510-3669.
Future Now, Bronx Community College offers free HSE preparatory classes to out-of-school or formerly incarcerated youth. The P2G Program is for students ages 17½–20 and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) 52 Education program is for students ages 17–24. Call 718-289-5852.
Getting Out and Staying Out seeks to reduce recidivism by empowering formerly incarcerated young men through education, career-building, and financial independence. GOSO works with young men 16-24 years old, and partners with community organizations, defenders, and courts to prevent involvement with the justice system. Call 212-831-5020.
Greenhope Services for Women provides residential, day treatment, and outpatient programs for court-involved women with a history of substance use disorder. Call 212-360-4002.
Hour Children provides comprehensive care for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their families. Their services include transitional and permanent supportive housing, job training and placement, case management and therapy, pre and post-release mentoring, mentoring for children with incarcerated parents, and a licensed daycare center and after school program for children of formerly incarcerated mothers. Call 718-433-4724.
The Lazarus Douglass Tubman Community is a community-based reentry initiative located in Downtown Brooklyn. It’s a program run by the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance, which builds community around and for residents affected by the Atlantic Yards project. LDTC offers inclusive programming for formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Call 718-797-2184.
Osborne Association provides a range of programming and services for defendants, the formerly incarcerated, people on probation and parole, people in prison, and families of currently and formerly incarcerated people; offers educational and vocational support; court advocacy, outpatient substance; job-readiness and employment services; harm reduction services; intensive HIV/AIDS case management; provides letters if reasonable assurance upon written request. Call Brooklyn office: 718-637-6560; Manhattan office: 212-324-5577; The Bronx office: 718-707-2600.
Women’s Prison Association provides women involved with the criminal legal system at any stage with the support needed to find housing, find and prepare for employment, reunite with their children, access substance-use and mental health treatment, and learn practical budgeting skills. Call 646-292-7740.