NEW YORK, NY, November 7th — Greenhope (PGH), one of the nation’s foremost residential treatment programs for women, will expand its services to a new facility in East Harlem having reached its $8 million funding goal. The building, which is scheduled to break ground in 2004, will be one of the first to house both women and their children and provide much-needed support services under one roof. PGH provides comprehensive substance abuse treatment and supportive housing for women who are transitioning back into society after incarceration as well as women who are referred to the agency as an alternative to incarceration (ATI).

Currently women automatically lose custody of their children when they are referred to PGH as an alternative to incarceration. In 1998, Dr. Anne R. Elliott, Executive Director of the organization, began developing a program for mothers and their children so foster care could be avoided. She announced today that funding for the construction and operation of a 36,225-square feet facility has been obtained from a consortium of public and private agencies and individual donors.

Since its inception in 1975, PGH has been strongly committed to meeting the needs of the East Harlem community, helping more than 4,000 women reunite with their families, prepare for employment and become productive members of the community. The supportive services provided include: substance abuse treatment, vocational/educational services, individual, group and family counseling, case management, permanent housing placement, parent development, foster care system educational workshops, domestic violence education and prevention and legal services.

PGH is very effective in rehabilitating parolees and preventing recidivism. “Greenhope maintains a 75% completion rate among parolees which is significantly higher than the 25% standard set for this population by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. This year, Greenhope also achieved a 65% job placement rate for its clientele,” says Dr. Elliott.

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Due to Greenhope’s effectiveness, it was selected by the New York State Division of Parole as the program to receive and rehabilitate all female parolees coming out of prison who were natives of Harlem before their imprisonment. Greenhope also maintains a recidivism rate of less than 10%.

PGH is one of a handful of woman centered treatment facilities operating in New York State and one of only a few programs serving both parolee and ATI women in the same residential setting. PGH’s commitment to providing quality services to ex-offenders has made it a leader in working with women to address internal and external challenges that lead to a life of drugs and crime. The organization has an operating budget of $3.5 million and more than 50 employees.

“Prison should only be used for the most violent and dangerous citizens in the community,” according to State Senator David A. Paterson. “Too often, jails and prisons are the community’s first response to complicated social problems like addiction and poverty. PGH’s programs have demonstrated a strong emphasis on breaking that cycle,” says the Senator.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics ranks New York State as the fourth largest female prison population in the nation, exceeded only by Texas, California and Florida, with most of those women convicted of non-violent drug or property offenses. More than 65 percent of incarcerated women are mothers of children under 18.

“Housing women with their children at a residential treatment facility, such as the future new Greenhope building is one of our primary goals” says Dr. Elliott. “Children of incarcerated parents are six to eight times likely to become imprisoned and 40% are more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system than their peers.” Greenhope wants to stop the cycle of imprisonment and build lives instead of prisons.”

For more information contact Catherine Poku at (212) 996-8633 ext.10 or email: cpoku@greenhope.org

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