Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Meg Egan, CEO of Women's Prison Association
5:19:16
ยท
152 sec
Meg Egan, CEO of the Women's Prison Association (WPA), testified about the organization's vision for alternatives to incarceration and support for women in the criminal justice system. She emphasized the need for increased funding for ATI and reentry programs to address systemic inequities and reduce reliance on Rikers Island.
- WPA aims to challenge systemic inequities that disproportionately affect Black and brown women in the criminal justice system.
- Egan called for restoring and expanding funding for ATI programs ($3.8 million) and reentry services ($8 million) that have been cut.
- The organization's priorities include creating pathways to make incarceration obsolete, expanding clinical services, and improving discharge planning for women in the community.
Meg Egan
5:19:16
Good afternoon.
5:19:17
My name is Meg Egan and it is my great honor and privilege to lead the Women's Prison Association.
5:19:22
I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today.
5:19:25
Throughout its one hundred and eighty year history, WPA has been a force for change, challenging systemic inequities that criminalize and marginalize women, particularly black and brown women at disproportionate rates.
5:19:39
For these women, incarceration is not merely a consequence of a single event, but a result of compounding systemic failures, poverty, housing instability, trauma, and lack of meaningful opportunity.
5:19:51
The harms and failures of Rikers Island are real, and the cost of families, communities, and the city is immeasurable.
5:19:58
Mothers are separated from children.
5:20:00
Communities lose contributors.
5:20:03
The cycle of inequity perpetuates and deepens.
5:20:06
But what if there was a different way?
5:20:08
A way that prioritized prevention, provided support, and treated justice as an opportunity for restoration rather than punishment.
5:20:18
WPA envisions that path forward.
5:20:21
By meeting women where they are, WPA fosters trust, connection, and agency, empowering each individual to reclaim her future.
5:20:29
Rooted in New York City, WPA serves as a lifeline for women navigating the criminal legal system, working alongside them to to dismantle the structural barriers that have kept them in the margins for too long.
5:20:44
There are just over 400 women held on Rikers Island right now.
5:20:48
We believe that together with our partners, we can develop the service and support to make the community public safety minded default rather than Rikers Island.
5:21:00
And to realize that vision, the city must not just restore the funding currently cut, again, 3,800,000.0 from ATI programs and 8,000,000 from reentry, but expand these essential essential and effective programs.
5:21:16
Our work will center on the following priorities to develop this infrastructure.
5:21:22
I will very quickly close.
5:21:25
We are focused on restoring the ATI Reentry Coalition funding, funding to support creating a practical pathway to make decarceration sorry, to make incarceration obsolete in New York City, expanding clinical services for women in the community, and expanding robust discharge planning services.
5:21:47
Thank you.