Nicole met Project Place staff during her recent incarceration at the Suffolk County House of Correction. Recognizing the Project Place lanyards, Nicole reached out to arrange a meeting with our staff to enroll in the programs offered at the House of Correction through Project Place. Nicole was outgoing, personable and very eager to learn more about the services Project Place could offer to her. She was determined to make her reentry into the community successful and final. She trusted in Project Place for support.
She began taking an Anger Management class offered in-person one time per week while simultaneously working with Project Place’s Community Reentry for Women (CREW) program for discharge planning and case management support. The CREW program has successfully prepared women for release since the program’s inception in 2003.
Part of Nicole’s discharge planning was to secure a program that would provide support, safety, and recovery services. Nicole’s Project Place case managers reached out to Bethany House of Hope. Bethany House provided Nicole with safe, stable housing and worked in partnership with Project Place’s case management team to offer recovery and employment supports. Upon Nicole’s release, Project Place case managers, Larissa and Joli, met Nicole at the House of Correction and brought with them a “Reentry NavSack”, a backpack filled with basic essentials. Larissa and Joli drove with Nicole to check in with her supervising officer, and later to her program. “This dedication and commitment to our clients is what makes CREW and our reentry model so successful, we meet people wherever they are and give them a hand of reassurance,” says Joli.
During Nicole’s first week at the program, she was able to use her resume to find a job at a local market. With the continued support from Larissa and Joli, she has been able to move into her own apartment, obtain a driver’s license for the first time, and purchase a car. Nicole told Larissa and Joli that they have been beneficial to her in maintaining her sobriety and having such a successful reentry.
Recently, Nicole is helping others in-need by referring them to Project Place for programs and services.