TESTIMONY
Nicole Farrelly, Senior Mitigation Specialist at Osborn Association on Advocacy's Role in Supporting Indigent Clients and Alternatives to Incarceration
6:29:12
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3 min
Nicole Farrelly testifies on the crucial role of advocacy and alternatives to incarceration for indigent clients, highlighting the success of the Osborne Association.
- Farrelly outlines Osborne Association's funding requests, emphasizing the need for the closure of Rikers and the restoration of vital funding for incarceration alternative programs.
- She presents compelling statistics to demonstrate the effectiveness of Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) programs, including a reduction in sentences by 1,300 years and saving taxpayers millions.
- Through the stories of clients Mr. Lopez and MT, Farrelly illustrates the transformative impact of ATI programs on individuals' lives.
- These narratives underscore the importance of ATI programs not only in saving costs but also in rehabilitating individuals and integrating them back into society.
Nicole Farrelly
6:29:12
Thank you.
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My name is Nicole Farrelly, and I'm a senior mitigation specialist with Osborne Association's core advocacy services.
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Providing defense based advocacy for indigent clients.
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Osborn serves 10,000 participants annually and has provided core advocacy services for 30 years.
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My written testimony details Osborne's funding requests and calls for the closure of Rikers.
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The restoration of the 17,000,000 that funded programs on Rikers until it was eliminated last June.
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And the restoration of the $2,500,000 for the next steps.
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A nine year old program providing mentors and services to young people that the Department of Prevention are limited with eliminated with only days notice.
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We are requesting increased investments and programs that keep people out of jail in prison and support them when they are coming home.
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The effectiveness of ATI's cannot be overstated.
6:30:00
In 1 year, we reduced sentences by 1300 years, saving taxpayers tens of 1,000,000 of dollars.
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And 98% of our clients avoided detention by meeting their court requirements.
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The cost of 1 year in micros is $556,000 per person.
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For that, ATI's conserved over thirty people and yield life changing results that make us all safer.
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As compelling as these numbers are alone, I wanna tell you about 2 of our clients.
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As it's important that we remember that every one of our more than 6000 people are writers as a person with the story.
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When I met Mister Lopez, he was thirty years old and 6 years into his 10 year probation sentence.
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He was on record for violating probation because he missed appointments and dropped out of acquired treatment due to a painful back injury that left him almost immobile.
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He had committed no new crimes and was a loving husband and father to 2 young children.
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On Ricard's Island, the Serlop has his physical health deteriorated.
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He was in severe pain and became wheelchair bound.
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He never received his promised MRIs or pain medication.
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In one meeting, he told me, this place is literally killing me.
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I would take hundreds of years of house arrest rather than be in here.
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With our advocacy, he was restored to probation after spending months deteriorating on Rutgers Island.
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With proper supports now in place, His probation requirements adjusted to accommodate his physical limitations.
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He has reenrolled in treatment, is back with his family, and is living a law abiding life.
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Another client, MT, is a twenty three year old non binary individual who is facing 25 years in prison.
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We gather background information to understand their needs and presented them to the court.
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MT had significant childhood trauma, faced many challenges, and had a difficult time on Records Island.
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We found a residential program where MT was accepted, achieved sobriety, and thrived.
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We advocated for a reduction in their charges and a non incarcerated substance with a longer term residential program as an ATI.
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The judge and ADA agreed.
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MT has maintained sobriety for over a year completed vocational training program and is now employed full time.
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They received a housing voucher and are looking for independent long term housing.
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The court recently decided that upon completion of the program, MT will be able to replete to a misdemeanor in May.
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Without poor advocacy and community based programs, MT could have spent decades in prison towards what game and a huge Times