Wooster Square Neighbors Welcome Planned Re-Entry Drop-Off Center

When a new drop-off center for people transitioning out of prison comes to Wooster Square in January, the program will have some friendly faces — and even a few potential new collaborators — in the neighborhood.

The drop-off center is a forthcoming initiative based in Project MORE, a local nonprofit at 830 Grand Ave. that provides resources for people exiting prison. (Read more about the program here.)

When city Prison Re-Entry Director Carlos Sosa-Lombardo pitched the program to the Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team at a Zoom meeting Tuesday night, members of the group welcomed the notion with open arms.

The drop-off station is the city’s effort to create a centralized place at which correctional systems would drop off ex-offenders coming back to New Haven. The drop-off center would be integrated with Project MORE’s existing resources and housed within the same space, so that formerly incarcerated people can meet with case managers upon arriving to New Haven.

When formerly incarcerated clients arrive at the drop-off center, Sosa-Lombardo explained, a peer mentor or staff member will greet them and assess which social services they might benefit from. ​“If people need services, they can always come back,” he said.

According to Sosa-Lombardo, resources for formerly-incarcerated individuals in New Haven are scattered across the city and often disconnected from one another. ​“They receive referrals after referrals and residents get discouraged,” Sosa-Lombardo said of people out of prison seeking reintegration services.

He envisions the consolidated drop-off center as an alternative to ​“people going place to place to sustain piecemeal services.”

Dennis Daniels, Project MORE’s president, said he hopes the drop off center ​“will be a one stop shop for our clients.”

Morris Moreland, the organization’s vice president, clarified that clients would be dropped off inside the building, rather than outside on Grand Avenue. ​“We’re talking about the DOC escorting those individuals into our building and making sure there’s a safe change of hands,” he said. ​“That person will either be integrated with a family member or get a bus pass. It’s not gonna be a place where people hang out, loiter.”

The management team welcomed the forthcoming program.

Andrew Giering, a federal public defender, urged Project MORE to ensure that people reintegrating from federal correctional facilities can benefit from the drop-off program, in addition to those reintegrating from state prisons. ​“You don’t want them to slip through the cracks,” Giering said.

Moreland responded that the organization hopes to grow its relationship with the federal government.

Gina Bingham of the New Haven Free Public Library offered to connect the organization to the library’s services. The library already partners with the city’s Project Fresh Start for formerly incarcerated residents, she said. ​“I would love to connect with you all. A lot of the folks who come in to access computers have become near and dear to our hearts.”

Caroline Smith, co-founder of the start-up incubator Collab and the management team’s chair, proposed a similar partnership with her organization. Collab could host one-on-one office hours for clients who want to start their own businesses, she suggested.

“We really need opportunity for all of our neighbors, and I feel like this is a really crucial program,” said Mill River Alder Ellen Cupo. ​“Is there anything that you need from us? Clothes, toiletries, other items that the community can donate?”

“That is something that we can look into,” Moreland said.

He did have one ask: to become a member of the management team. ​“That way you can really understand the work we do,” he said.

He added that after the pandemic, management team members could come see drop-off center for themselves, in person.

This request received smiles from Smith and executive board member Ian Dunn.

“Welcome,” Smith said. ​“If you’re here, you’ve already joined.”