The Fortune Society Issues Statement on New York City’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

NEW YORK, N.Y., July 2, 2024—The Fortune Society, a leading non-profit organization with a long history of providing permanent supportive and affordable housing to individuals with criminal legal involvement, today issued the following statement about the Fiscal Year 2025 budget adopted by the New York City Council.

We extend our gratitude to New York City Speaker Adrienne Adams and the City Council as well as to the Administration for reaching this agreement for the Fiscal Year 2025 budget. For years, alongside our partners and allies, we have advocated for funding for the kinds of programs and supports that allow people involved in the criminal legal system to remain safely in our communities. We have done so because we believe in the possibility of transformation. We have seen our participants do the hard work to rebuild their lives, and many of us at The Fortune Society have undergone our own transformations to achieve personal and professional success, which allows us to give back to our families and communities. We know that for this to be possible, it is critical to have a safe and stable place to lay one’s head at night.

For these reasons, we are thrilled that the Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes an additional $6.4 million for the Justice Involved Supportive Housing (JISH) program. We give sincere thanks to the City Council for repeatedly including this in their budget response over the years and to the many advocates who championed the need for this funding – including residents of supportive housing. As one of our longtime residents said, in speaking with Council Members about the need for this funding, “Supportive housing saved my life.” We hope this critical funding will be apportioned to allow for a long overdue increase in service rates for the existing JISH units as well as bring the promised 380 additional units online with sufficient service rate funding. JISH is a proven, cost-effective, and humane means of breaking the cycle between jail, the streets, and emergency rooms. We stand ready to partner with the City to ensure this program meets its fullest potential to reduce the jail population and support some of our most vulnerable fellow New Yorkers.

We are also grateful that funding for Alternative to Incarceration and reentry programs was restored, which will allow us and our sister organizations to continue helping people access the kinds of services

that keep them out of the system: employment, education, substance use and behavioral health treatment, and so much more.

Finally, the historic agreement on a cost-of-living adjustment for human services workers was a victory for racial justice and equity, and a recognition of the challenging, invaluable work performed by this sector.

While this budget contains critical items that give us cause to celebrate, we must also note where we see gaps, including the $17 million funding cut in June 2023 for services provided to people held on Rikers Island. While the Administration announced $14 million in new funding for programming, it remains unclear how much of this funding will be allocated for the provision of the previously canceled programming, and given the lengthy City procurement and contracting process, it is unclear when programming would actually begin. This lack of uncertainty and delay exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in our city jails, leaving people idle and without hope. It is imperative that trusted community-based providers are adequately funded to offer these critical services.

While the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) received a small increase, that amount falls short of the additional $4 million advocates have called for. CCHR requires adequate resources to educate the public about their rights and responsibilities and to enforce the landmark Fair Chance for Housing Act (FCHA), which is set to take effect on January 1, 2025. By sharply curtailing discrimination against people with convictions, the FCHA should break down what has been a major barrier to successful reentry, though it will only be as effective as it is enforceable. Therefore, we will continue to advocate for more resources for CCHR.

The Fiscal Year 2025 fiscal plan is a good step towards enhancing public safety, supporting our most vulnerable residents, and advancing racial justice. We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that all New Yorkers have the opportunity to thrive.

ABOUT THE FORTUNE SOCIETY: Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society has advocated on criminal justice issues for over five decades and is nationally recognized for developing model programs that help people with criminal justice histories to be assets to their communities. Fortune offers a holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of service provision. Among the services offered are discharge planning, licensed outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, alternatives to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, career development and job retention, education, family services, drop-in services and supportive housing as well as lifetime access to aftercare. For more information, visit www.fortunesociety.org.