Sponsorship Program

The Center for Community Problem Solving Reentry Guide

A Handbook for People Coming Out of Jails and Prisons
And for Their Families and Communities

Through our Sponsorship Program, we aim to get our new Reentry Guide into the hands of every girl and boy and every woman and man either locked up in New York’s prisons and jails and detention centers or already back home in New York City facing the challenges of reentry. For every $17.00 you donate, we’ll send our Reentry Guide to those who can most use the collective problem-solving knowledge we have for the first time gathered into one easy-to-use resource.

We know reaching our goal seems unrealistic. In fact, the raw numbers suggest just how much we would have to do:

Pretty overwhelming, we realize. And, in the best of all worlds, prisons and jails and detention centers would provide ambitious orientation programs for all these people. Such programs would help incarcerated men and women and girls and boys grasp exactly what they can expect upon release, where they can find support, and how they can best work with those available to help them. But until we together can successfully persuade prisons and jails to transform their policies and practices, we simply must deal with thousands of people dumped into everyday life with little or no preparation for what they will face.

Of course, we cannot make up entirely for what we should have had our criminal justice system doing all along. We can take steps, however, to improve the current situation. We won’t be successful if all we do is endlessly “talk a good game” about reentry. But we can create tools with which people leaving prisons and jails and detention centers can solve problems they inevitably will encounter as part of living -- tools that are both practical and yet central to a larger coherent vision of how we all can responsibly shoulder the challenges of reentry.

And that’s exactly the sort of tool we’re offering through our Sponsorship Program. Our Reentry Guide provides a one-of-a-kind resource that connects those facing problems with those public, private, and civic institutions with the capacity to help. Responding directly to urgent requests by people facing the challenges of reentry in and around New York City, and shaped by comprehensive interviews of thousands of New Yorkers, the Reentry Guide highlights services that match problems people tell us they face: identification, housing, employment, government benefits, physical & mental health, substance abuse, alternatives to incarceration, family & recreational activities, immigration, case management, education, independent living skills, advocacy, voting, and emergency needs. We make available explanations of common terms, tips on how to go about getting help, and information on fees and eligibility requirements. And we supply in-depth descriptions of diverse providers, including contact information, bus and subway directions, languages spoken by staff, wheelchair accessibility, mission statements, geographic, age, immigration status, and income requirements, and listings of particular programs offered by other service providers with whom they work.

Can we get our Reentry Guide into the hands of every person who most needs one? We think we can – at least with your help. And we certainly won’t find out unless we try. Isn’t our only sensible choice to join together – to pitch in – to help people who (very much like all of us) can benefit hugely by drawing upon collective wisdom in dealing with life’s ups and downs?

Help us, please, by sponsoring as many Reentry Guides as you possibly can. Together, we can make the world saner, safer, and better in every way.

Jerry López & Center Staff

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