Establishing a life after incarceration

Support groups discuss options in Lakeview

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After meeting with several inmates during his historic visit to a federal prison in July, President Obama remarked, “What is normal is young people make mistakes,” and added that the only difference between the inmates and most Americans is the resources and social support structures available to those who aren’t in prison.

Last week, several organizations came together in Lakeview to educate the public about those very resources, and how people who have been incarcerated — and the friends and family members who love them — can find and best utilize those that exist locally.

The meeting, called Alternatives to Incarceration, was held at the Lakeview Public Library and featured speakers from Hour Children, which helps house and support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children; the Council of Thought and Action, or COTA, which helps formerly imprisoned people access the tools and services they need to re-enter society; and the Black Male Initiative at the City University of New York, which aims to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of minorities in higher education. The event was also attended by several dozen local residents and community activists, and was hosted by the Lakeview NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and the library.

Dana Boylan, an assistant district attorney in Nassau County who represented COTA, kicked off the meeting by pointing out the not-so-obvious problem that exists among the incarcerated. “Once a person has been held accountable for his time, he deserves an opportunity to return to the community,” said Boylan. “We do not have the right to continue to punish that person by not helping them.” She and several other event speakers noted that when people come out of prison, they often return to the same communities in which they committed their crimes, and if they don’t get help, they risk repeating their mistakes.

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