“Mayor Bloomberg Presents Apartment Keys to New Residents Including Formally Incarcerated Individuals and Low Income Families

NEW YORK – Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today joined The Fortune Society, Jonathan Rose Companies, and federal, state and local officials in celebrating the opening of Fortune’s “Castle Gardens,” a mixed-use affordable, supportive and green apartment complex in West Harlem. Located at 625 West 140^th Street , the new 110,000 square-foot building will provide 114 apartments for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals and low income families from the local community. The Fortune Society is one of the most respected and effective alternative to incarceration and reentry agencies in the country.” Read the full story after the jump!

“According to an old Native American proverb, there are two wolves in each of us. The good wolf, and the bad wolf. And whichever one we feed is the one that will survive.  

I myself have fed both. I’ve fed the bad wolf to the point that I was living like one. I treated everything and everyone like a potential meal. Until eventually my journey with the bad wolf led me to prison. It wasn’t in prison that I found the other wolf, but it was in prison that I learned to care about it.

My experience on the inside has shown me how to nurture a side of me that had always been there. And its because of that nurturing that I’ve been trying to show others that’s its ok to feed the good wolf…”

Read the full post after the jump!

This new regular feature, written by Alvaro Cumberbatch, will be comprised of musings of a formerly incarcerated man who is currently in the process of building his own better future.  Having served six and a half years on the inside, Alvaro has a unique inside/out perspective to share with our readers.  Comments and questions are encouraged!!  To learn more about Alvaro, please scroll to the bottom for a full profile.

Check out this week’s edition of the DRCPP Weekly Email Update, available here!

(Tuesday, August 17th, 2010)

…Then, she went to The Fortune Society.

“Everybody here is beautiful,” she gushed. “They believed in me.”

In the last two months, they helped her get the apartment, offered the GED course and got her substance-abuse counseling…

Read the full article by clicking here!

Career Gear Beneficiary Highlight: James’s Story
This interview was conducted on October 7, 2009 by Chris Stella for Career Gear 120 Broadway, 36th fl New York, New York 10271.

James never had it easy. From the age seven to eighteen, he was moved to more than 40 foster homes and orphanages, later turning to drugs, crime, and eventually serving time in prison. Now, at the age of 42, James is clean, sober, employed and making a difference in his community. He is living proof that with with faith, confidence, and the courage to change, anything is possible. The Suitor had the opportunity to sit down with James and hear his story…

There are so many places these days from which to draw cooking inspiration.  An article in Martha Stewart’s magazine, Everyday Food, took a little twist on the Italian antipasti platter, but made a sandwich using thick crusty bread and many of the items usually found on an antipasti platter. This sandwich could travel well to a picnic, or be enjoyed at home in your own backyard or kitchen…

Cool food for hot days: Today it was HOT outside and also inside the Fortune Kitchen. We made cold pasta salad using fresh grape tomatoes, olives, capers, fresh herbs, tuna and an olive oil dressing so Joyce (faithful volunteer) could show our clients an authentic summer dish from Rome.

Welcome to “Creative Works,” a regular feature written by Erika Loseman, Fortune’s Licensed Art Therapist. Erika will post explorations of the themes around which her art class is organized, vignettes about her talented students and the class, and photos of the colorful and expressive art participants create. The following is an introduction to what Erika’s art class is all about.

Welcome to “Bits and Bites from Miss Betty’s Kitchen,” a regular feature written by Betty Wilson, who has been volunteer teaching “Miss Betty’s Practical Cooking/Nutrition Class” at Fortune for the past four years.  Betty will post vignettes about her students and her class, photos of the colorful and delicious meals they make together, and some of the recipes she loves and teaches in her class.  The following is an introduction to what Miss Betty’s class is all about.