Getting out of prison can be just as arduous an experience as going in. To help facilitate the process, Senator Kevin Parker and Assemblymember Edward Gibbs have proposed a reentry cash assistance bill that raises the amount of “gate money” people receive from the state upon release.
Gibbs is the first formerly incarcerated person in the New York State legislature and personally understands the monumental challenges facing those reentering society from state prisons. “As soon as you get off the bus you’re broke,” said Gibbs about the bill. “No money in your pocket, identification, no job interviews lined up, no apartments. You think about survival first.”
As of now, New York will provide formerly incarcerated people with $40 in cash assistance upon release from prison if they have less than that amount in their account. For comparison, someone released from a state prison in California who served a sentence longer than six months could receive up to $200 upon release.
Criminal justice advocates and those with lived experience have long said that $40 barely covers basic necessities like food, temporary housing costs, transportation, job preparation, or any other unexpected expenses. They’ve also noted that gate money payouts have not kept up with current inflation rates or the skyrocketed cost of living in the state.
“$40, there isn’t much you could use. I think I got something to eat and carfare to get to the train. I can’t recall being able to buy much more than that after my release,” said Brooklyn native Michael Williams Sr.
Williams was serving a 14-year prison sentence for robbery upstate and was paroled in 2019. He joked that he still owes friends and family who gave him money during that time period and imagines it’s incredibly difficult for people who don’t have the same support system waiting for them. He went on to run his own reentry nonprofit called Create Unlimited Power Purpose (C.U.P.P.) to help others like himself deal with mental health issues. “The first 72 hours [after release]. It’s critical because anytime you hear a siren you feel like it could possibly be you again going away for a very long time,” said Williams. He thinks any raise in gate money would be welcomed by formerly incarcerated folks.
The bill, S6643A/A9115, would establish a reentry fund with about $2,550 per eligible individual towards their immediate expenses. They will have access to $425 a month for up to six months, which will be adjusted for inflation each year. Gibbs said the amount is intended as a solid cushion for people and not to encourage codependency. It was inspired by similar legislation passed by Assemblymember Tarra Simmons in Washington, the first formerly incarcerated legislator in her state, said Gibbs.
“If you were just sent home in khakis and tans, people would know you just came home. If you don’t have anything to change into for a couple of days, it makes it even more [obvious] that you stand out like a sore thumb,” said Lukee Forbes, about spending gate money on clothes.
Forbes, who was locked up as a juvenile and faced the death of both his parents by the time he was released, is excited about the reentry fund. Though he thinks the proposed “stipend” is not really enough with the cost of living, it could still be “life changing” for formerly incarcerated people. When he got out, he couldn’t use any of his prison work experience on his resume without some sort of discrimination and ended up founding We Are Revolutionary.
“When people leave prison in New York, all too often they do not have safe and stable housing. They do not have jobs. They may have work to do in repairing relationships with loved ones. They may be facing physical and mental health challenges, without clear connections to care,” said Ronald Day, the senior vice president of The Fortune Society’s David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy. “Even those people who are fortunate to come home to family, who have housing, are burdened with the stigma of a conviction and will face barriers to successful reentry as a result.”
Day added that prison wages, about 10 to 65 cents an hour, are so meager as to be nearly inconsequential in terms of financial support. Katie Schaffer, director of advocacy and organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives, also pointed out that the Citizens’ Inquiry on Parole and Criminal Justice found that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) did “next to nothing” to help people avoid post-incarceration poverty, and that the same $40 given to them 50 years ago was “inadequate.” Schaffer made it clear that she thinks that $40 was not enough then and it is not enough now.
The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), the largest reentry organization in the country and a founding member of the Coalition for Reentry Cash, lauded Gibbs and Parker for introducing the bill. They believe the fund will help recipients cover essential needs as well as reduce the chances of recidivism.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.