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Released NYC detainees will get phones, including those who are older, trans or have mental illness
By
Matt Katz
Published Jul 13, 2023
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NYC Department of Correction Instagram page
By
Matt Katz
Published Jul 13, 2023
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Approximately 1,000 detainees will get free smartphones upon their release from Rikers Island to help them connect with health care services and loved ones on the outside, the city jails’ health provider announced on Thursday.
Detainees who qualify for a complimentary phone and yearlong service plan include those with serious mental illness or complex medical needs, senior citizens, pregnant people, survivors of domestic violence, and those identifying as transgender or intersex.
Correctional Health Services, a division of NYC Health + Hospitals, announced the free phone program in conjunction with the opening of a re-entry service center at Rikers Island to serve as a “resource hub” for people discharged from the jails and those coming to the island as visitors.
The center will provide fentanyl test strips, used to test drugs for the deadly compound, and naloxone kits, which can reverse overdoses.
The phones are intended for those who leave jail needing more assistance than others in returning to city life. They come loaded with apps and phone numbers to help users connect with housing, employment and health care services, according to CHS. Houston-based Premier Wireless Business Technology Solutions and T-Mobile are funding the program, while CHS will pay $147,600 for the departing detainees’ yearlong service plans.
“Cell phones have become an indispensable way for getting and staying connected to family, friends, and the resources that can be critical to a successful transition back home,” said CHS' Senior Vice President Patsy Yang in a statement.
Mayor Eric Adams also endorsed the program, saying in a statement: “This program and the newly opened re-entry center underscore this administration’s commitment to helping vulnerable New Yorkers rebuild their lives after incarceration, and will help build a safer city for all.”
The new services come as $17 million in programs for detainees — including re-entry services — were eliminated last month by the Adams administration. The Department of Correction has said it will replicate the services in-house. Advocates for detainees have argued that is impossible.
A lack of discharge planning has long been seen as a reason why some released from Rikers Island fall into homelessness and end up rearrested. New York Focus reported this week that the Department of Correction doesn’t even provide discharge papers to many detainees when they’re released, which prevents them from accessing Social Security and Medicaid benefits.
The re-entry service center is intended to assist detainees with accessing such assistance. Correction Commissioner Louis Molina said the center can even help to reduce recidivism.
“We know that many incarcerated people are better served with treatment for their mental health conditions elsewhere, and this Correctional Health Services center here on Rikers Island will be an important step in the process of rehabilitation for so many of them,” Molina said in a statement.
A CHS spokesperson said the phones’ data, including messages and location information, will not be shared with the Department of Correction or the NYPD.
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Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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