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NY Reentry Roundtable
There are more than 56,000 inmates in New York State prisons. Most were New York City residents before prison. Most all of them will be released at some point, and will return to their home communities, where they may face discrimination in jobs, housing, credit and other areas that will make the transition difficult. The NY Reentry Roundtable brings together reentry advocates from across the City to formulate strategies to make this transition smoother, by changing minds and changing laws.
Sharing Information, Building Alliances
CSS formed the NY Reentry Roundtable in 2005, inviting formerly incarcerated people, direct service providers, government agency representatives and community activists to come together each month to address the obstacles faced by those released from prison. Our goal has been to provide a unique forum for networking, information sharing, and building alliances and the Roundtable has grown to include more than 60 stakeholder organizations. The Roundtable has hosted speakers from each sector of our membership, focusing on systemic change and critical reform in education, employment, family connections, parole and sentencing, housing, and voting rights and joined together annually for Albany Advocacy Day focused on bringing important issues and legislation to the attention of legislators. We paused the Roundtable when CSS moved offices over this past summer and the Roundtable’s founder Gabriel Torres Rivera retired.
Please note: We are now resuming the NY Reentry Roundtable, with renewed focus and energy. For news about upcoming Roundtable events, check the CSS Event Calendar or email George Hairston at GHairston@cssny.org.
The Reentry Roundtable was comprised of over 60 stakeholder organizations, and provides a unique forum for networking, information sharing, and building alliances. The Roundtable focuses on systemic change at the New York State level through a legislative agenda, which advocates for critical reform in education, employment, family connections, parole and sentencing, housing, and voting rights.
Setting the Agenda for Change
As an outgrowth of the Roundtable, CSS established the annual Advocacy Day, which enables community-based stakeholders to meet in Albany with key New York State legislators. Advocacy Day participants educated legislators about the Roundtable’s legislative agenda, which includes a platform of bills focused on eradicating barriers to reentry and on easing some of the challenges faced by people who are currently incarcerated. More than 100 participants attended each Albany Advocacy Day from 2007 to 2014. Learn more about our reentry efforts and three Advocacy Day bills that will help New Yorkers with conviction histories find stability and support in their lives after prison.
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