Summary of Meeting with Father Peter Young: July 16, 2011
Father Peter Young speaking to JNJ in Poughkeepie.
What a wonderful, inspiring meeting with Father Peter Young: http://www.pyhit.com/
Video 89 [HD] Here are some highlights:
Housing, Industries and Treatment are key to successful re-entry-- a balanced 3-legged stool that allows addiction-prone ex-felons to succeed, and reduces recidivism from 63% to 8% -- very effective.
HIT is a program that replace punitive incarceration with active rehabilitation, both in and out of prison. Addiction-prone inmates have a much higher rate of recidivism without treatment than others who have been released from prison; with treatment and reentry support a much lower rate. Fr. Young refers to program participants as wounded healers and has served more than 4,000 people in 100 locations. He helped develop the earliest alternatives to incarceration (ATI) programs in NYS. An earlier attempt -- many years ago -- to put an AIT and rehabilitation program in Dutchess County was unsuccessful, but times have changed, and PYHIT now has a proven track record, which we can embrace and bring similar results from Albany and Schenectady to Dutchess and surrounding counties. A building at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center was promised, but prevented from being used for this valuable program.
PYHIT has several businesses that employ formerly incarcerated that have been rehabilitated. After 7 years participants are encouraged to become mentors. The Schuyler Inn, LeMoyne Manor and Capitol Hill Deli provide jobs in hospitality and culinary arts. The Altamont program also provides computer skills and warehouse management training. Partnerships include NYS Industries for the Disabled, VESID, NYSERDA, DDSO, HVCC, etc. One problem is that funding for people discharged from prison doesn't follow the person from one county to another, so if people are accepted into a program in counties with programs like PYHIT (Albany/Schenectady) from Westchester, Dutchess, etc., which have no such programs, and they need medications or other special services -- there is no funding to meet these needs. Also, there is a long waiting list for the PYHIT programs. From Joel: Rev. Peter Young from our forum Saturday at Holy Light Pentecostal Church in Poughkeepsie -- check out http://www.PYHIT.com/ for this magnificent work over past four decades -- proven by SUNY-Albany School of Criminal Justice to cut recidivism from 63% to 8%-- which is what we need here in Dutchess-- instead of wasting tens of millions of county tax dollars on unneeded jail expansion --
See: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/213823548641980 for flip videos by Joel Tyner.
Manna Jo will follow up with Julie at PYHIT to get a copy of the cost analysis to share. 518-878-4101.