Community Foundation Shines Light on Incarceration Injustices
Convening attended by more than 245 community members
Senghor Headlines Convening in New Haven
 |
| Photo courtesy of Chris Volpe. Read more about the event in the New Haven Register's article. |
New Haven, CT (September 9, 2016) –The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven's strategic work to create a welcoming community underpinned yesterday's Convening entitled EMERGING: Life After Incarceration featuring author and director, Shaka Senghor.
The Convening was attended by more than 245 guests and organized by The Community Foundation in partnership with EMERGE Connecticut Inc., one of several local providers of services to formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
Every year, about 1,200 men and women are released from prison to New Haven. Some are at the end of their sentences, while many more are under the supervision of parole or probation officers. All too often, the barriers faced by the formerly incarcerated increase their chances of returning to prison, a cycle that is devastating to families and neighborhoods and exacts a high cost from taxpayers.
"The Community Foundation adopted a formal strategy to create a more welcoming community for formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in 2014," says William W. Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
"But the reality is that we have been serving this population since our founding. In our reentry work, we partner with organizations like EMERGE Connecticut and the City of New Haven's Warren Kimbro Reentry Initiative to ensure the availability of comprehensive services and support. We believe that when provided the right opportunities and support, formerly incarcerated men and women are far more likely to successfully find jobs, rebuild their relationships and become productive members of society."
Part of The Community Foundation's goal in helping formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate in the community includes raising the community's consciousness of the many barriers this group faces in rebuilding their lives. Barriers to successful community reentry include: limited job opportunities, low levels of education, chronic physical and mental health issues, debt, substance abuse and access to housing. In addition to creating special grantmaking for nonprofits providing services to returning individuals and organizing the Convening on September 8, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is sharing stories of returning individuals through a multi-year Instagram campaign online at www.instagram.com/lifeafterincarcerationgnh. To learn more about The Community Foundation's strategic work surrounding incarceration and reentry, visit www.cfgnh.org/reentrystrategy.EMERGE Connecticut, Inc., is a self-sufficient social enterprise with a dual commitment to helping formerly incarcerated persons and at-risk youth make a successful return to their families as responsible members, and to their communities as law-abiding, contributing citizens.
Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has awarded more than $20 million in grants and distributions annually for the past few years. The endowment is valued at more than $500 million and composed of hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, create healthy families in New Haven, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org® and encourage better understanding of the region. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven's 20 town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.
###
Media Contact: Ratasha Smith
Communications Officer
Phone: 203-777-7096
E-mail: rsmith@cfgnh.org
