Successful reentry is determined by several factors including family/community support, employment, and stable housing. The latter is important for a variety of reasons. After months, or years, of living in a crowded, noisy, impersonal, and often dangerous environment, the positive psychological effect of having a place of your own cannot be underestimated. Transitional housing upon returning from prison makes one feel, well, transitional. When applying for a job it is necessary to provide a home address. An address of a half-way house or homeless shelter can cause a potential employer to think twice about hiring that applicant. And living in such places after being released is not exactly tantamount to making a fresh start.
The Fortune Society, an organization that is known for its ground-breaking work in the field of reentry, knows how important stable, affordable housing is for those trying to build a new life after prison. So, Castle Gardens, an apartment complex in West Harlem, was created by the Fortune Society. The complex has 114 units, ranging from studio-size, to up to three- bedroom apartments. Of that number, Fortune Society clients will live in 50 units, and the remaining apartments will house low income individuals and families. Rents range from $624 per month for a studio apartment, to $1,127 monthly for a three-bedroom unit. Eligibility requirements for low income residents are based on sixty percent, or less, of the median income of the surrounding neighborhood, according to the Fortune Society.
What makes Castle Gardens unique is that the complex has a library, community room, play room and landscaped terraces on the roof. It also has a computer lab, and Wi-Fi. Perhaps more importantly, there is the 20,000 square foot Service Center that provides counseling, case management, and financial planning services to the residents. Life skill development courses are also available.
Castle Gardens was created by a partnership that included the Fortune Society, the City of New York, and Jonathan Rose Companies, which was responsible for constructing the site using an energy efficient, environmentally-friendly design. In keeping with the Fortune Society’s vision of helping with successful reentry, the management company, Phipps Housing Services, Inc., hired, Chris Carney, a former Fortune Society client, with excellent handy-man skills, as the Castle Gardens superintendent.
New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, welcomed the new residents of Castle Gardens by handing them keys to their new apartments, Echoing the sentiments of those in attendance, the Mayor stated, “If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, but sometimes you need a second chance to get your priorities back on track.”
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