Reentry Radio

In the latest episode of Reentry Radio, Reentry Specialist Kenny Inniss speaks with Prison-to-College Pipeline (P2CP) alum Labre Fulcher about his experiences in P2CP, getting involved in theater, working in reentry after his release, and more.

In the latest episode of reentry radio, Intake and Supportive Services Manager Amy Wald speaks with Prison-to-College Pipeline (P2CP) alum Richard Lazarini about his experiences in P2CP, continuing college in the community, the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

In the latest episode of reentry radio, Intake and Supportive Services Manager Amy Wald (R) speaks with Prison-to-College Pipeline alum Richard Lazarini (L) about his experiences taking classes while incarcerated, working with College Initiative to resume his education in the community, and using everything he learned to launch a new business.

In this episode, College Initiative (CI) Academic Counselor Ayiisha Ferrell speaks with her student Dorphus Williams about his experiences in CI and his recent graduation from City Tech. 

In this episode, the Institute's Communications & Development Associate, Katie Beiter, speaks with Lateef Sanders, a member of the College Initiative (CI) community and a recent graduate of Brooklyn College, about his experiences in CI, his past, the challenges of COVID-19, and more. 

In this episode, former College Initiative (CI) Academic Counselor Desiree Gomez speaks with her student Mimi Pascual about her experiences in CI and her recent graduation from City College of New York. 

In this episode, College Initiative (CI) Academic Counselor Kombeh Jobe speaks with Freddy Jacobs about his experiences in CI and his recent graduation from City College.

In this episode, College Initiative (CI) Academic Counselor Ayiisha Ferrell speaks with Charles Clink about his experiences in CI and his recent graduation from the NYU Silver School of Social Work.

In this episode of Reentry Radio, PRI talks to Melissa Ader, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society's Worker Justice Project, about conviction-related employment discrimination and the steps New York has taken to combat it with the Fair Chance Act. Passed in 2015, this act levels the playing field for justice-involved individuals “because it pushes the criminal record inquiry until after the person gets a job offer,” according to Melissa. Justice-involved individuals, however, still face discrimination in the hiring process. Melissa outlines the ways in which those individuals can navigate employment discrimination and the importance of information sharing in shifting norms and practices. 

In the latest of episode of Reentry Radio, former College Initiative mentoring coordinator, Alejo Rodriguez, discusses the mentor-mentee relationship. Rodriguez highlights the emphasis on compassion, empathy, and respect in eliminating the top-down structure typical for mentor-mentee relationships to best support justice-involved individuals seeking higher education. He argues that, in these types of relations, there is mutual reward and satisfaction along with a certain level of authenticity and sensitivity between mentor and mentee. CI is a community of successful, positive, and supportive students, alumni, and staff dedicated to creating pathways from criminal justice involvement to college and beyond. We achieve this through individualized assistance with college selection, enrollment, financial aid, academic counseling, peer mentoring, and supportive workshops. In short, CI encourages people to enroll in college who might not have considered it, removes barriers to their enrollment, and creates a supportive community that increases student success in college and in life. 

Over the course of several months, students in PRI's College Initiative (CI) program participated in a memoir writing program with , a writing program that uses a trauma-informed approach to bring workshops to incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and justice-involved individuals. In this episode, we speak with Jessica Hall, the founder and executive director of Prison Writes, and Brenneis Nesbitt, a CI student who participated in the memoir writing workshop. 

PRI’s College Initiative (CI) program partnered with the , which works to preserve and amplify the voices of individuals directly impacted by mass incarceration. In this episode, El Sun discusses the struggles he faced growing up and his experiences pursuing education during and after incarceration. 

PRI's College Initiative (CI) program partnered with the , which works to preserve and amplify the voices of individuals directly impacted by mass incarceration. Through a workshop with the Justice Project, CI students Tomas (above, left) and Victor (above, right) interviewed each other about their experiences pursuing education before, during, and after incarceration. 

PRI's College Initiative (CI) program partnered with the , which works to preserve and amplify the voices of individuals directly impacted by mass incarceration. Through a workshop with the Justice Project, CI staff member Carlos Quintana (above, left) interviewed CI student Derek about his experiences taking college classes while incarcerated, experiencing the elimination of Pell grants for incarcerated students, and continuing his education through CI after his release. 

In 2017, PRI's College Initiative (CI) program partnered with the , which works to preserve and amplify the voices of individuals directly impacted by mass incarceration. Through a workshop with the Justice Project, CI students LaStar (above, left) and Liz (above, right) interviewed each other about their childhood aspirations and their experiences with justice involvement and higher education.

The Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) at John Jay College partnered with the StoryCorps Justice Project in their mission to amplify the stories of people who have been directly impacted by mass incarceration and the justice system. In this episode, College Initiative students Deivy and Philip discuss their experiences being incarcerated, seeking higher education as a means of refuge, dealing with personal struggles, and finding a sense of community both within and outside the prison walls.

In the second episode of our two-part series about the NYC Justice Corps program, we’re bringing you an even closer look at the intricacies of the program’s community benefits project model. On June 28, 2017, the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) released a report entitled Building Communities, Changing Lives: The NYC Justice Corps Community Benefit Projects as part of the Occasional Series on Research in Reentry. At the event, panelists, NYC Justice Corps alumni, and audience members discussed the transformative power of community benefits projects. This episode, the second in our series about NYC Justice Corps, feature the voices of the NYC Justice Corps alumni, community-based host sites, and community stakeholders who participated in the panel: Briana Montero, NYC Justice Corps alumni Cyrus Garrett, former Executive Director of the NYC Young Men’s Initiative Almond Santos, NYC Justice Corps alumni Colin Maloney, NYC Justice Corps alumni Pastor Marcia Usher Kerr Reverend Frank Morales Dianne Morales, Executive Director and CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods Dr. Carson Hicks, Deputy Executive Director of Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity Jeremy Travis, former President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Season Two of Reentry Radio is back! What changes do justice-involved youth want to see in their communities? How can social engagement empower youth as community members? What does it look like when community leaders are committed to holistically supporting  youth? In this episode of Reentry Radio, we bring you an inside look at the New York City Justice Corps program, which aims to change the dynamic between justice-involved young adults and the communities in which they live. Through community benefit projects, in which program participants design and carry out renovation and restoration projects in their communities, NYC Justice Corps promotes transformation and leadership. On June 28, 2017, the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) released a report entitled Building Communities, Changing Lives: The NYC Justice Corps Community Benefit Projects as part of the Occasional Series on Research in Reentry. At the event, panelists, NYC Justice Corps alumni, and audience members discussed the transformative power of community benefits projects. This episode, the first in our two-part series about NYC Justice Corps, feature the voices of panelists and alumni: Elena Sigman, Director of Collaborative Learning, PRI Dr. Shadd Maruna, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Manchester School of Law Judge Rhonda Tomlinson La Rue Beharry, Brooklyn Justice Corps alum Almond Santos, Harlem Justice Corps alum Colin Maloney, Bronx Justice Corps alum

This episode of Reentry Radio is the conclusion of a special three-part series about housing access and support for people with criminal justice system involvement. On October 27, 2016, the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) held a special event in partnership with The Fortune Society, The Supportive Housing Network of New York, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing. This day-long event, Excluded: A Dialogue on Safe, Supportive, and Affordable Housing for People with Justice System Involvement, gathered together a group of speakers and panelists from a variety of fields. This episode features the panel “Creating a New Paradigm,” which tasked speakers with considering new approaches to housing. Laura Mascuch, Executive Director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York, moderated the panel, which featured: Marta Nelson, Executive Director of the New York State Council on Community Reentry and Reintegration Trish Marsik, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System Kristin Miller, Director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing JoAnne Page, President and CEO of the Fortune Society Jocelyn Fontaine, Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center The series concludes with “Translating Values Into Action,” a conversation around what can be done to further create and support a system where people with criminal justice system histories can live in safe, affordable, and supportive housing. This panel was moderated by Ronald Day, Associate Vice President of Policy at The Fortune Society, and featured: Paulette Soltani, Housing & Homelessness Organizer at VOCAL-NY John Relman, Managing Attorney at Relman, Dane & Colfax Margaret diZerega, Project Director within the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice Jessica Yager, Executive Director at the NYU Furman Center

This episode of Reentry Radio is part two of a special three-part series about housing access and support for people with criminal justice system involvement. On October 27, 2016, the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) held a special event in partnership with The Fortune Society, The Supportive Housing Network of New York, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing. This day-long event, Excluded: A Dialogue on Safe, Supportive, and Affordable Housing for People with Justice System Involvement, gathered together a group of speakers and panelists from a variety of fields. This episode features the panel “Drilling Down: the Barriers to Housing Faced by People with Justice System Involvement,” moderated by Richard Cho, Director of Behavioral Health at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, featuring: Sideya Sherman, Executive Vice President for Community Engagement and Partnerships at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Liz Gaynes, President and CEO of the Osborne Association Linda Glassman, Deputy Commissioner at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Michael Bosket, Deputy Commissioner for Customized Assistance Services at HRA Matthew Main, Staff Attorney at Mobilization for Justice The panelists discussed barriers to housing at an individual level, barriers at a programmatic and provider level, and barriers at a policy level. This episode also features a series of short presentations and discussions surrounding housing models that are proven to work for people with criminal justice histories, led by Erin Burns-Maine, Senior Program Manager at the Corporation for Supportive Housing. Featuring: Rita Zimmer, Founder and Executive Director of Housing+Solutions Max Lindemen, Senior Director of Housing at The Fortune Society Yolanda Johnson Peterkin, Chief of Housing Community Activities at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

This episode of Reentry Radio is part one of a special three-part series about housing access and support for people with criminal justice system involvement. On October 27, 2016, the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) held a special event in partnership with The Fortune Society, The Supportive Housing Network of New York, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing. This day-long event, Excluded: A Dialogue on Safe, Supportive, and Affordable Housing for People with Justice System Involvement, gathered together a group of speakers and panelists from a variety of fields. Ann Jacobs, Director of PRI, moderated the first panel featured in this episode, “A Place Called Home: Why it Matters,” featuring: Jerilyn Perine, Executive Director of the Citizens Housing Planning Council Ana Oliveira, President of the New York Women’s Foundation Anthony Thompson, Professor of Criminal Law at NYU law School The panelists discussed the fundamental values and vision that drive policy related to providing housing and services to justice-involved people.

The sixth episode of Reentry Radio comes from the April 2015 Occasional Series session on intimate partner violence. Keynote speaker Louisa Gilbert, LMSW and an Associate Professor at the Columbia School of Social Work, presents her research on WINGS, a computerized intervention that address IPV among clients under community supervision. Discussants at the event included Brenda Davis, Aruna Krishnakumar, Virginia Lasoski-Nepa, and Laurie Leitch. The session was moderated by Ana Bermudez, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation.

The fifth episode of Reentry Radio comes from the March 5, 2015 Occasional Series session on mass incarceration's consequences on American communities. Keynote speaker Dr. Todd Clear, Provost Rutgers University-Newark presents his research “Predicting Crime through Incarceration: The Impact of Rates of Prison Cycling on Rates of Crime in Communities.” His groundbreaking report explores the question of whether the effects of mass incarceration increases rather than decreases neighborhood crime rates. Dr. Clear is joined in this discussion by Julio Medina, City Councilmember Jumaane Williams, Kate Rubin, and moderator Kevin Barnes-Ceeney.

The fourth episode of Reentry Radio comes from the PRI's February 2015 Occasional Series on Research in Reentry, Criminal Justice Debt. The event, cosponsored by the Center for Community Alternatives, features Mitali Nagrecha, author of . She is joined by Patricia Warth, David Silva, and Ann Cammett.

The third episode of Reentry Radio comes from PRI's December 2014 event featuring Martin Schoenteich, author of Presumption of Guilt: The Global Overuse of Pretrial Detention. Mr. Schoenteich's presentation is followed by comments by David Marshall from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Jose Luis Morin, John Jay College Professor of Latin American Studies. The event was co-sponsored by the Open Society Justice Initiative, United Nations Development Programme, the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice, and the International Criminal Justice Program of John Jay College.

The second episode of Reentry Radio comes from the October 2014 session of the Occasional Series on Research in Reentry. The event featured Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt, Stanford University Professor and a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant for her work on racial profiling and bias. Dr. Eberhardt is followed by John Jay College Associate Professor Maureen Allwood, John Jay Distinguished Lecturer Marty Horn, and Slate writer Jamelle Bouie.

The inaugural episode of Reentry Radio comes from the September 2014 session of the Occasional Series on Research in Reentry, which focused on children of incarcerated parents. The episode begins with a presentation by Dr. Sara Wakefield, co-author of “The Prison Boom - Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality". Dr. Wakefield is followed by commentary and discussion by a distinguished panel of experts including Jean Kjellstrand, Tanisha Douglas, Tanya Krupat, and Deborah Sills Iarussi.