TESTIMONY
Wendell Walters, Manager of Policy and Advocacy at Osborne Association, on Housing Challenges for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals and Reentry Services
5:12:13
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141 sec
Wendell Walters explains the critical role of stable housing in successful reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals and Osborne Association's efforts to address this need.
- Osborne Association serves 10,000 participants annually from arrest to reentry as one of the largest criminal justice service organizations in the state
- The organization operates Fulton Community Reentry Center in the Bronx, providing 40 beds and reentry services for men returning from prison
- Osborne is partnering on a supportive housing project in Brownsville, dedicating 52 units for previously incarcerated older adults
- Walters highlights the 1.4% vacancy rate in NYC, emphasizing the difficulty for those returning from incarceration to find housing
- The organization requests $250,000 in council funding for program services at Fulton Community Reentry Center
Wendell Walters
5:12:13
Thank you chair.
5:12:14
Oops.
5:12:20
Thank you, Chair of Sanchez, and members of the housing and building committee.
5:12:23
Filled opportunity to provide testimony today.
5:12:24
My name is Wendell Walters.
5:12:26
I'm the manager.
5:12:26
Of policy and advocacy at the Osborn Association.
5:12:29
Osborn is one of their largest and oldest criminal justice.
5:12:32
Service organizations in the state, each year reserved 10,000 participants from arrest.
5:12:36
To reentry?
5:12:37
Why you may ask?
5:12:38
Is all the going given testimony in the housing and building committee?
5:12:41
It's a fair question.
5:12:42
As previously stated, we are primarily a or just a service provider, and you wouldn't think of us as having an interest in housing policy and advocacy.
5:12:49
Well, lack of stable housing or being on houses often of a story preceding incarceration, and housing is often the most difficult reentry issue for the thousands of individuals who returned to New York City from incarceration.
5:13:01
The newly reported vacancy rate of 1.4% consider how difficult it must be for those who are returning to New York City after years of incarceration.
5:13:09
According to the course of our homeless every year since 2015, between 45 and 55% of those even state prison were discharged to the, as you all know, overwhelm New York City shelter system.
5:13:21
We cannot forget about these individuals and Osborn is doing what we can, but the suit to be opened Fulton Community Research our reentry center in the Bronx.
5:13:30
This traditional housing development has auditing forty beds for Oldenmen returning from prison and offers an array of reentry services.
5:13:38
We are grateful of the past council funding of Fulton, and we are again requesting council support in the amount of $250,000 of program services.
5:13:48
We also have development partnership with an affordable housing developer on Marcus Garvey's supportive housing project in Brownsville that dedicated 52 units of permanent supportive housing for the previously incarcerated older adult.
5:13:58
We have other similar permanent supportive housing projects in our modest pipeline.
5:14:03
Osborne does the work.
5:14:04
We are dedicated to the mission of supporting those who are inside and those who come home.
5:14:09
People are most vulnerable, of course, after release, and that is when they most need the stability of
UNKNOWN
5:14:15
Times expired.
5:14:16
Thank you.
Wendell Walters
5:14:17
They they quickly they face the host of issues that they integrating to society and managing housing at the top of the list.
5:14:23
We're the council to invest in building housing and support community organizations by addressing this need.
5:14:27
Thank you, and we'll submit our full statement today.
5:14:31
Thank you.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
5:14:32
Thank you so much.
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Colin Kent-Daggett, Advocacy Coordinator and Paralegal at TakeRoot Justice, on funding for the Stabilizing New York City Coalition and community housing initiatives
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Memo Salazar, Co-Chair of Western Queen's Community Land Trust, on Community Land Trust Initiative Funding and Affordable Housing