Corrections_Today_September_October_2021_Vol.83_No.5

Correctional Chaplain Perspectives

agreed to establish an 18-member Prison Relations Advisory Commit- tee (PRAC) to coordinate the AAP pilot program. The key aspect of the AAP pro- gram and the PRAC activities is a top-level, close cooperation between the local community, led by the Town Supervisor, and the Superin- tendents of these two prisons — all geared towards community resources being applied to a more productive quality of life for those in prison. Successful reentry is a major issue and a critical one for survival back in society when measured by the staggering recidivism rate. The effectiveness and success of this model was proven during the COVID–19 pandemic, when the project collected and donated tens of thousands of bars of soap, face masks, disinfectant materials and other items to make the facilities, and the women, safer until vaccinations could be provided. These efforts are described in more details in two previous Corrections Today articles and are embraced and supported by the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The project is also well on its way

Photo courtesy Sharon Griest Ballen

Some of the critical supplies collected and donated through a local Adapt-A- Prison program.

to securing funding for the construc- tion of a much-needed sidewalk to improve prison access for arriving family members, as well as for com- muting prison staff members from the local train station. Reentry support systems critical In this active engagement with the two correctional facilities, IPP quickly realized the effort of reach- ing out to those during incarceration might be lost without proper after- care when released. A first step in addressing the reentry issues has been the development of a special Release Bag holding various toiletry, hygiene and other support items to be given to the returning woman as she is released from prison. Successful reentry is a major issue and a critical one for survival back in society when measured by the staggering recidivism rate. Over 50% of formerly incarcerated people return to prison within the first three

years. IPP recognized this aftercare step could not be done alone and reached out to a member of its Inter- faith Advisory Council, Sr. Theresa Fitzgerald, CSJ, Executive Director of Hour Children Inc., a six-million- dollar non-profit organization located in Queens, NY. For more than thirty years, Sr. Tesa, as she prefers to be called, has operated an important reentry support system for women returning from incarceration in New York State and their children. The Hour Chil- dren name acknowledges key hours in the lives of children of mothers who have been sent to prison – the hour of arrest, the hour of their visits, and the hour of their reunification. This family focused approach is key to the successful reentry strategy of the Hour Children organization (HC), whose mission is to help in- carcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children success- fully rejoin the community, reunify with their families and build healthy,

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