A Bronx-based social services nonprofit plans to open a $12 million housing development in Morrisania this week for older adults leaving the prison system.
The Osborne Association is scheduled to open the Fulton Community Reentry Center on Wednesday, a 140-bed temporary residence designed to help older adult men leaving the prison system get stable housing after release.
In addition to housing, the center will offer employment assistance, case management and substance use counseling and a community for formerly incarcerated men over 50. The shelter plans to serve older individuals coming out of long periods of incarceration – a population that may face struggles getting a job or reintegrating into their community after release, said Jon Monsalve, interim president and CEO of the Osborne Association.
The Fulton Center will provide transitional housing and Osborne’s aim is to find permanent residences for people living there. But Monsalve said that immediate housing is critical for community reintegration for formerly incarcerated people, as it offers a path to finding employment and preserving health and well-being.
“This is the thing that folks worry about the most – where they are going to put their head at night,” Monsalve said.
The Economic Development Corporation provided $6 million to build the Fulton Center, with additional capital funds flowing from the City Council and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Osborne received a $138 million contract from the city’s Department of Social Services to operate the Fulton Center through 2040. The contract will provide roughly $6.8 million in city funds each year.
While DSS provides operating funding for the facility, the Osborne Association owns it, said DSS Commissioner Molly Park. She said the new center represents a “three-way win:” it offers a high-quality residence for the community, it allows the nonprofit to operate and own the building and it provides the city with a new shelter at a fixed rent cost.
Park added that Fulton will offer stable housing and connections to permanent residences for a population that often slips through the cracks.
The Osborne Association provides social services such as employment counseling and housing assistance in New York City, Westchester and Buffalo. The nonprofit will hold a ribbon-cutting for the Fulton center on Wednesday.
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-04-22 11:33:05
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