Queens Public Library and Queens Defenders have formed a partnership to offer a tech-focused program to help parolees overcome the challenges they face following their release from correctional facilities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Re-entry of former inmates – who had no access to technology while incarcerated – is challenging, especially for those who have been imprisoned for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has added new barriers to this already difficult transition. 

As part of the “Immediate Access: Technology Re-entry Program,” the parolees recently released from prison receive smartphones to connect them to online resources and services to assist them with reentry, ranging from the Library’s virtual programing and financial and transportation apps to online certification programs. They also receive a data plan, technology assistance, and job training to equip them with the information, skills, and resources they need to help them move forward on the outside. 

All participants have access to QPL-created resources, including its Re-entry Resource Guide, and assistance from the Library’s Job and Business Academy and its Queensbridge Tech Lab at the Queensbridge housing complex in Long Island City. In addition, QPL staff facilitate a skills training and job certification curriculum for each individual. 

The program, which will assist 75 formerly incarcerated individuals over a two-year period, is funded with more than $330,000 from the CARES Act Grants for Museums and Libraries, awarded to QPL and QD by the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS). 

Understanding the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights is critical for black and brown people, especially adolescents and young adults. Queens Defenders launched Justice 456, an educational tour of schools, community centers, churches, and other community venues to teach those most at risk of a wrongful conviction how to protect themselves.

Queens Defenders has various workshops and services to support our clients and their families.

If you or someone you know can benefit from any of these services, contact us.