Funds to benefit Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office START Resource Center to help
reduce the recidivism rate for former prisoners
Hempstead, NY (Jan. 19, 2023) – Iona Burke, a senior at the Ross School in East Hampton, NY and, intern last summer for Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, recently raised $1,100 for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation’s Community Service Fund. Funds raised were donated directly to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office S.T.A.R.T. Resource Center.
The START Resource Center helps incarcerated individuals reenter communities by connecting them to resources, employment opportunities, and other essential needs to prevent recidivism.
According to the National Institute of Justice, 75 percent of released inmates are re-incarcerated. New York State spends over $69,000 per year per incarcerated individual. But prisoners who participate in work-release programs are 17 percent less likely to return to prison than those who don’t.
Burke first learned about the START Resource Center while assisting Legislator Fleming with a Dignity Drive for the Center last summer.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team START Resource Center first opened its doors Monday through Friday in February of 2020. It includes five correction officers – three are correctional counselors and two are community correction officers.
The three correctional counselors interview inmates upon incarceration, assess their needs both while incarcerated and post-incarceration, and make necessary referrals. The team works with individuals’ needs including substance abuse treatment, education, job assistance, Department of Social Services assistance, identification issues, transportation, food, housing, and clothing. After such needs are assessed, the two community correction officers work to establish a discharge plan for the individual’s successful reentry into the community.
Upon discharge from the facility, the justice-involved individual visits the START Resource Center. All the needs identified by the counselors are addressed by the Resource Center staff and the many service providers. At this time the warm hand-off to the community begins and lines of communication are established for follow-up care. The START Resource Center continues to remain available postincarceration for follow up assistance in the hopes of continued success. The START team provides a positive benefit to the community by facilitating the successful reentry of justice-involved individuals with the hope of reducing recidivism.
With more than three centuries of continuous service, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is the oldest law enforcement in Suffolk County, N.Y., and has become known as one of the most innovative law enforcement agencies and correctional systems in the country.
This philosophy and approach of Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. was the impetus for the birth of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation in 2020. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office combined its work with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation to build a stronger community. “Reducing the recidivism rate for formerly incarcerated individuals means one less victim and makes our communities safer.” said Toulon.
“Reducing the recidivism rate for former incarcerated individuals means one less victim and makes our communities safer,” said Toulon.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation’s mission is to support community-based programming to reduce incidents of crime and recidivism, improve outcomes for at-risk individuals, and build positive relationships with members of law enforcement.
Toulon notes that the greatest opportunity for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Foundation is to have a positive impact on the community — especially its youth.
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