From Zoe Greenberg's article in The New York Times:
When Shirelle Howard left prison in 2016, she had $112 in her pocket — her life savings.
After buying her train ticket from Taconic Correctional Facility to Manhattan ($12.75); a MetroCard ($5); and two slices of pizza and a soda for her first meal of freedom in 16 years ($2.99), she had $91.26 to start over.
For a year, she struggled. And then she got a lifeline: a room at “ Hope House, ” a new transitional home in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx for women just leaving prison.
At least, she thought she did.
Ms. Howard, 54, has not been able to move in. At the last minute, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision decided that the house was not suitable for parolees. Meanwhile, some Castle Hill residents, horrified at the prospect of former prisoners moving into the neighborhood, have started a campaign to shut down the whole project. Ms. Howard is currently living in a homeless shelter. Continue reading >>>
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