Community-Based Programs
Community-based solutions aim to reduce recidivism and prevent incarceration before it happens.
At the Women’s Prison Association (WPA), we work within communities to provide reentry, rehabilitation, and reintegration support, advancing equity and opportunity for justice-impacted women and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We work with community members, partner organizations, and citywide agencies to provide programs and services that our clients need to stabilize, heal, and prosper.
Reintegration Support and Reentry Services
We set our clients up for success in the community.
Our Community-Based Programs provide gender-responsive wraparound case management that supports clients’ immediate needs and personal goals, building the foundation for their long-term stability and safety. We give referrals to assistance programs and services and provide reentry and community-based support including trauma-informed mental health services, emergency assistance, legal support, vocational training, and workforce development programming.
Discharge Planning and Reintegration Support
We work with women detained at Rikers Island or at the Taconic and Bedford Hills correctional facilities upstate to connect them with the community-based programming they need to transition smoothly back home. We want our clients to feel supported, heard, and understood as they navigate this challenging time.
Emergency Assistance
Returning to the community is a challenging time in someone’s life, and sometimes, unforeseen stressors stand in the way of progress. We support our clients with resources and items such as food, hygiene items, MetroCards, baby supplies, tech tools, emergency shelter support, and more.
Reentry Services and Community Care
We provide immediate support upon release, working with our clients to set them up for success. We map out their goals and find the right pathways forward.
Clients are enrolled in any or all of WPA’s community-based programs that best meet their needs: Clinical Services, Workforce Development, and the Law Project. We also refer clients to off-site services and connect them to on-site workshops and classes that bolster their life skills and vocational training, such as technology classes, financial literacy and budgeting education, and job readiness.
Through our Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, we educate community members on overdose prevention strategies and train them in the proper use of Narcan. Each session concludes with the distribution of Narcan kits.
Learn more about our community-based programs below.
Program Eligibility
We accept clients who:
- Are ages 18+
- Are returning from jail or prison
- Have current criminal legal system involvement or involvement within the past three years
Clients must meet all of these requirements to enroll.
Programs
WPA offers comprehensive programs and services before, during, and after incarceration.
About WPA
WPA empowers participants to redefine their lives in the face of injustice and incarceration.