|
|
20th Anniversary Gala Just Three Weeks Away: Get Your Tickets Today!
Ready to help Hudson Link celebrate our
20th Anniversary - while ensuring the future of higher education where it is needed most?
The evening's program promises to be filled with messages of inspiration, hope, and transformation as we look back on the founding and growth of an organization born in the basement of Sing Sing Correctional Facility which now serves nearly 600 incarcerated and 700 formerly incarcerated men and women each year.
|
Historic Ban the Box Legislation Announced at Hudson Link Headquarters
This month Westchester County Executive George Latimer made a notable policy announcement outside Hudson Link's picturesque State Street headquarters.
While flanked by Hudson Link alumni and employees, Latimer announced that he was introducing a piece of "Ban the Box" legislation for Westchester County's employment offices. This new policy would prevent employers from asking about an applicant's history with the criminal justice system until a conditional offer of employment has been made.
This new order is almost identical to New York City's "Fair Chance Act," which took effect in late 2015. However Latimer is one of the first representatives to begin the expansion of this policy deeper into New York State.
Of barriers to employment during reentry, Alumni Coordinator Todd Young told FiOS1 News, "It's one of the biggest obstacles, because when you check this box you haven't met face to face, haven't sat down for an interview, basically they don't know anything about you."
Hudson Link applauds George Latimer for this important and historic step toward reentry and reintegration for formerly incarcerated residents of Westchester County.
|
New York Consortium for Higher Education in Prison Meets at Hudson Link Office
|
|
| NYCHEP members from around the state |
Hudson Link was excited to host the most recent meeting of the New York Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (NYCHEP), where representatives from 19 different college-in-prison programs around the state gathered to discuss program successes and obstacles, student and alumni support services, and more.
This meeting was the first time that many of these programs had been together in the same room since the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison in Arlington, Texas.
As programs that focus on working within prisons, it is often hard for us to transition into helping our students once they have returned home. To assist, Ann Jacobs and Carlos Quintana from John Jay College's
Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI), hosted a session which walked attendees through a framework for understanding reentry needs that change over time and explained the ways in which the counselors and advisors at PRI consider this framework in support of their students.
Following a wonderful lunch and a great deal of networking and exchanging of ideas, members reconvened for an afternoon session dedicated to the future of NYCHEP.
"These conferences are an invaluable tool for program leaders to learn from each other and to see real life role models within other programs across the state," Hudson Link Executive Director Sean Pica said of the meeting. "We were so happy to have everyone gathered in our space and are already excited for the next meeting."
|
The Moth Hosts Community Outreach Program with Hudson Link Students
|
|
| Storytellers and instructors pictured here before the final showcase |
Earlier this month a group of Hudson Link students got the chance to work with community educators from NPR's hit show
The Moth to participate in a three-day storytelling workshop!
The Moth features people telling captivating stories from their lives in a live studio setting.
This workshop was part of a community program by
The Moth that aims to help people master their own narratives through storytelling, and to promote personal stories that challenge dominant narratives in our society.
Over the course of a long weekend, Hudson Link alumni brainstormed, edited, and workshopped their own stories before performing them Saturday evening in front of a small audience of friends and family.
The showcase provided a safe, intimate environment for the performers to try their hand at public speaking, but they are encouraged to take their newly polished stories to larger stages! All the participants have the opportunity to have their stories posted on
The Moth's website or aired during their radio story hour, and can take part in any live
Moth events during the coming year.
|
|
 |
| Moth workshop participants taking a break from brainstorming to play an icebreaker game called "Whoosh" |
|
The workshop was full of laughter, dancing, and some incredibly moving personal stories. Many thanks to all who participated and to the incredibly inspiring instructors from
The Moth.
If you would like to hear some stories from past workshops with
The Moth, check out their
story archive!
|
Hudson Link Alumnus & PEN America Announce Ongoing Effort to Promote Incarcerated Authors
PEN America strives to promote the voices of incarcerated authors with supportive programing, instruction, and unique publication opportunities.
Hudson Link is proud to announce that an alumnus of our program, Robert Pollock, has been hired by PEN America to coordinate programs and events like the "Writing for Justice Fellowship," the "Prison Writing Program," and most notably, "The World Voices Festival:Resist and Reimagine."
Next month, from April 16th-22nd, PEN America will be hosting a huge multi-platform event designed to gather writers and speakers from across the globe in an event of solidarity and intersectionality.
With panels and guest lecturers like Sean Penn, Roxane Gay, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, this festival is guaranteed to be unforgettable. At this historic event, Robert Pollock will be reading select submissions from the PEN America Annual Prison Writing Contest.
For more information on the World Voices Festival like ticket availability and information,
click here.
|
|
| |
|
