Half of the people released from New York State prisons are funneled into precarious homeless shelters. Simultaneously, one out of six individuals trapped in the U.S. prison industry has been homeless prior to their incarceration. Particularly Black and Brown people are relentlessly shuffled back and forth between custodial institutions, which sustain cycles of depravity and injustice. This public debate focuses on the “revolving door” between institutions that function as penal responses to poverty.

This event will also be live on youtube.

 
Melissa Benson serves as an advisor to nonprofit organizations driving social change. From 2019-21 she worked with the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund to create an immigration bond fund and pass bail reform legislation in NYS. She is currently advising Broadway Housing Communities where she previously served as Director of Development and Communications from 2012-18.

Darren Mack was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. During 20 years of incarceration, Darren became an avid reader interested in issues related to race, class, and gender. After his release, he actively engaged in working to dismantle New Jim Crow practices. He is the co-founder and co-director of Freedom Agenda.

Isaac Scott is an awarded multidisciplinary visual artist, journalist, and human rights activist. As an experienced community organizer, he was a Fellow at the Columbia Law School and founder of The Confined Arts at the Center for Justice at Columbia University, where he spearheads justice reform through the transformative power of the arts.