News
February Highlights
Highlights of our staff and program accomplishments throughout February.
- The first 15 residents of Marcus Garvey II, an expansion of our Brownsville, Brooklyn, supportive housing program, moved into their apartments starting January 29. Two new buildings with a total of 88 apartments will come online in the months ahead, providing residents with supportive services for reentry after long-term incarceration and a community of welcome.
- Our Visiting and Family Assistance Program recently hosted a Galentine’s Day breakfast at the Rose M. Singer Center, where 35 women came together to sing, dance, and celebrate the love of mothers. With activity stations set up by NYC DOC and food from community partner Nick’s Gourmet Deli, the women participated in a workshop focused on words of affirmation, led by Michelle Howard, Osborne Executive Vice President, and volunteer chaplains Rev. Adrian Dannhauser and Mary Russell. They shared messages like, “You are special to me because you are you” and “Don’t stop being you.” They also mailed their affirmations and photos to their loved ones at home.
- Earlier this month, Angeeluz Cortorreal, Program Coordinator for Court Advocacy Services in Westchester County, provided testimony to the New York State Budget Forum, making the case for expanded funding in Westchester, where limited mitigation infrastructure and rising demand are leaving many people without access to court advocacy services. In testimony submitted to the joint Assembly-Senate budget hearing on public protection, VP of Policy and Advocacy Tanya Krupat highlighted the successful outcomes of Osborne’s Court Advocacy Services, ReentryWorks, and visiting and parenting programs, urging greater investment in alternatives to incarceration, quality programming, and reentry housing that benefit all New Yorkers. Fulton Community Reentry Center’s Recreation Specialist Bruce Roudette, who resided at Fulton after five decades of incarceration, was the subject of a story from the Mozilla Foundation on new users of technology.