Our MissionRAWNY is dedicated to serving our community by supporting both the men and women who have experienced incarceration, and the agencies that serve them, to ensure anyone reentering has access to needed resources and support.
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Our VisionWe envision a community that is willing and able to welcome back people who have experienced incarceration and are ready to make a change, by providing opportunities for work, training, health care, housing and support, creating a safer community for everyone and strengthening individuals and families who have gone through the ordeal of incarceration.
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Who is RAWNY?
RAWNY is a not-for-profit agency, collaborating with other community agencies, to provide services that can meet the needs of people returning home from local jail, state prison, or federal detention. Our efforts improve public safety, reduce violence and recidivism, and provide financial support to fill gaps in service. Our staff have years of experience, including lived experience, and a passion to help our clients create a life too good to waste by risking a return to incarceration.
What do we do?
Thanks to Monroe County’s Bring Monroe Back initiative, RAWNY provides support to returning residents who are ready to have a better life—housing, health care, treatment, jobs, vocational training, peer mentors, recreational activities, civil legal assistance, obtaining birth certificates and ID, applying for public benefits, transportation, and more. We provide direct services and partner with RAWNY member agencies like Legal Assistance of WNY, HOPE Initiatives, Opportunity ROCS, Imprintable Solution, the Center for Community Alternatives, Compeer, the Judicial Process Commission, and many more, to ensure clients have access to the resources and support they need to stabilize in the community.
How do I get help?
Our goal is to make it as simple as possible for potential clients to being getting the help they need. Whether a community agency contacts us, a family member, criminal justice staff, or you contact us directly, there is no “wrong door.” You can email us at info@rawny.org, or call us at 585.851.8886. Our office is located at 282 Hollenbeck Street in the northeast area of Rochester. RAWNY coordinates closely with staff at the Monroe County Jail to begin working with people prior to their release. When you talk with us, we will do a brief assessment to find out what your goals are, what services we can provide, and if we need to connect you to one of our partner agencies.
Who is eligible for help?
We can serve any adult (18+) who has been incarcerated or is at imminent risk of incarceration. While we focus primarily on people who are about to be released or were recently released, we understand that the consequences of incarceration can be far-reaching, and you may need reentry assistance even if you have been back in the community for months or years.
RAWNY is a not-for-profit agency, collaborating with other community agencies, to provide services that can meet the needs of people returning home from local jail, state prison, or federal detention. Our efforts improve public safety, reduce violence and recidivism, and provide financial support to fill gaps in service. Our staff have years of experience, including lived experience, and a passion to help our clients create a life too good to waste by risking a return to incarceration.
What do we do?
Thanks to Monroe County’s Bring Monroe Back initiative, RAWNY provides support to returning residents who are ready to have a better life—housing, health care, treatment, jobs, vocational training, peer mentors, recreational activities, civil legal assistance, obtaining birth certificates and ID, applying for public benefits, transportation, and more. We provide direct services and partner with RAWNY member agencies like Legal Assistance of WNY, HOPE Initiatives, Opportunity ROCS, Imprintable Solution, the Center for Community Alternatives, Compeer, the Judicial Process Commission, and many more, to ensure clients have access to the resources and support they need to stabilize in the community.
How do I get help?
Our goal is to make it as simple as possible for potential clients to being getting the help they need. Whether a community agency contacts us, a family member, criminal justice staff, or you contact us directly, there is no “wrong door.” You can email us at info@rawny.org, or call us at 585.851.8886. Our office is located at 282 Hollenbeck Street in the northeast area of Rochester. RAWNY coordinates closely with staff at the Monroe County Jail to begin working with people prior to their release. When you talk with us, we will do a brief assessment to find out what your goals are, what services we can provide, and if we need to connect you to one of our partner agencies.
Who is eligible for help?
We can serve any adult (18+) who has been incarcerated or is at imminent risk of incarceration. While we focus primarily on people who are about to be released or were recently released, we understand that the consequences of incarceration can be far-reaching, and you may need reentry assistance even if you have been back in the community for months or years.
Our History
The Reentry Association of Western NY (RAWNY) has been in existence since 2005, originally known as the Safer Monroe Area Reentry Team (SMART) until 2021. It started as a volunteer grassroots member organization providing a platform for members to share information and news on reentry topics and advocate for better reentry policies.
Our members include more than 50 local organizations that provide direct services to people who are reentering the community after incarceration. Over the years the reentry landscape has changed.
Government at county, state and federal levels recognized the need to fund services for men and women returning to the community after incarceration—both as a cost-saving measure and to enhance public safety.
Monroe County now has countless programs in a variety of agencies that provide some type of reentry service. But those services have grown into a haphazard patchwork with little coordination, significant service gaps, and no central hub. For any individual coming home, finding help can be a long and frustrating scavenger hunt where they struggle to get even basic needs met.
RAWNY is prepared to utilize its experience to implement the Reentry One-Stop. It would serve as an umbrella organization to advocate for funding and coordinate services for women and men returning from local jails, state prisons, federal detention, and juveniles coming through the Office of Children and Family Services, through the following activities:
- Increase funding to community reentry organizations through grant writing at local, state, and federal levels, and through legislative education and advocacy, to support programs serving women and men in reentry, with the ultimate goal of incorporating Reentry services as a permanent part of the existing the criminal justice system that begins in Pre-Trial Services.
- Collaborate with partner agencies in creating and adopting an agreed upon standard of care, and provide training on topics including:
- Case management practices
- Trauma-informed care
- De-escalation techniques
- Motivational interviewing
- Understanding how to effectively advocate for clients in areas like landlord/tenant law, the Department of Human Services, Parole, and Probation
- Provide funds to be allocated to agencies to fill existing gaps in service, i.e., security deposits, emergency stabilization needs, and pro-social activities which are proven effective in keeping clients engaged.
- Provide technical and operational assistance to small neighborhood and faith-based programs.
- Ensure that formerly incarcerated women and men have a voice in reentry practices.
- Provide a platform to share best practices across agencies and programs.
- Provide public education through media, conferences, and special events.
- Participate in the TogetherNow's Systems Integration project. The Systems Integration Project aims to establish connections between 300 local health, education and human services organizations by building technology and establishing relationships across sectors. This project is a priority identified by the Regional Economic Development Council, the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), and others as a critical need for our community, as well as a key need and priority identified by people living in poverty.