Updated: Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at 5:09 p.m.

PEACE, Inc. has successfully helped six people with convictions reunite with their families since the launch of New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new re-entry program about six months ago.

Syracuse, along with Schenectady and White Plains, began participating in this new pilot project funded by the New York Department of State, which allows “carefully screened and monitored” individuals who are formerly incarcerated live with their families in public housing.

PEACE, Inc., which became a nonprofit in 1968, joined the project in February and has helped families and individuals become self-sufficient and provided low-income populations with resources to live within their means.

The nonprofit is Onondaga County’s federally designated Community Action Agency, which leads economic development and provides education, employment and family support services for the poor.

PEACE, Inc. hired a case manager with criminal justice experience with state grants to work specifically with enrolled individuals, while two other coordinators communicate with the families.

Cuomo said in a press release that he hopes the stable housing supported by the pilot program will help reduce recidivism in at-risk offenders and help qualified individuals reintegrating into society.

None of the 85 enrollees in the housing pilot program in New York City have committed new crimes since reuniting with their families, according to a study by the Vera Institute in 2016.

PEACE, Inc. currently has six people on the lease, three with employment, and hopes to eventually expand to a caseload of 12.

“It may sound like a small client caseload, but … these people are being released (from) prison and they’re starting from square one, so it’s pretty significant,” said Mary Beth Welch, director of Family Services at PEACE, Inc.

Public housing authorities screen housing applicants with criminal records to ensure public safety. In the assessment process, individuals who are safe to re-enter society can be unfairly separated from families.

In such cases, these people may end up in a shelter, couch surfing or in the streets, Welch said.

With Cuomo’s new initiative, the Community Action Agency receives clients through the Department of Justice who meet the re-entry criteria and work with them to get on the lease for public housing with their families. Before, they may be living “in the shadows” in public housing illegally or become homeless.

“The reason that this grant is coming through Community Action Agencies instead of just through the Department of Justice or Syracuse Housing Authority, is that we do offer the supports that we would offer to other clients, and to the family also,” Welch said.

There are six Family Resource Centers under PEACE, Inc. that already provide physical resources. Some of the services they provide are clothing giveaways and emergency food pantry, as well as services in employment, education, workshops on health, nutrition, budgeting, computer training and Early Head Start, a support program for children and pregnant women.

The nonprofit makes the center’s food pantry inclusive to the working poor, said Charles Rivers, program coordinator for the Southside Family Resources Center.

Some individuals may earn a little more than what’s eligible for food stamps but need that little bit of help because they may have children and family at home, Rivers said, and the center helps people fulfill that need.

The Community Connection Center established last year at his center builds on the existing career preparation service to act as a better “conduit” between individuals and employers. People’s needs may be anything from transportation to and from work, in which case FRC helps them attain bus passes, to developing professional skills and etiquettes.

Published on November 12, 2017 at 8:04 pm

Contact Jiaman: jpeng04@syr.edu