“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!

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!

Community Meetings at “the Castle” + the Genesis of The Castle Play

Producing, directing, and touring with the play The Castle, which also I conceived and wrote with the help of the four cast members, has been a rewarding experience for me. It is the journey of three men and a woman, all of whom have been in prison and who arrived at The Fortune Academy to reclaim their lives…

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…

The Castle was conceived, co-written, and directed by Fortune Founder David Rothenberg, and is co-written and performed by Vilma Oritz Donovan, Kenneth Harrigan, Angel Ramos, and Casimiro Torres – all of whom are former clients of The Fortune Society. This breathtaking drama follows the formerly incarcerated cast, which has collectively served over 70 years in prison, as they relate their harrowing, real-life journeys through adversity, crime, and redemption.

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…

On July 7th at 1pm and July 15th at 4:45 the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy has partnered with LaGuardia Community College to offer a Certificate of Relief From Disabilities and Certificate of Good Conduct Clinic for formerly incarcerated people who need assistance with the application process.

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.