WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 26, 2020 23
Queens Public Library teams up with Queens Defenders
for program to help parolees during COVID-19 pandemic
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
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 coronavirus
emergency 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 will receive a smartphone
to connect them to online resources
and services to assist them with reentry
into society, ranging from the
library’s programming and financial
and transportation apps to online
certification programs. They will
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 will 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.
Additionally, QPL staff will design 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 Museums and Library
Service. QPL and QD are among the
68 grant recipients selected from
more than 1,700 applicants.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made
the transition from life inside a correctional
facility to life on the outside
especially challenging,” Queens
Public Library President and CEO
Dennis M. Walcott said. “Our joint
program with Queens Defenders
will provide formerly incarcerated
individuals with tools allowing them
to take advantage of learning opportunities
available at the library
and beyond, helping them connect
with their communities and realize
their full potential. We are grateful
to Queens Defenders for partnering
with us to develop this important
initiative and to the Institute of
Museum and Library Services for
Parolees released from Rikers Island and other correctional facilities can fi nd re-entry assistance from a new
program launched by Queens Public Library and Queens Defenders. QNS/File
awarding us this grant.”
Queens Public Library has worked
with Queens Defenders on a number
of prior initiatives, including the
Youth Justice Court, which empowers
BY JACOB KAYE
JKAYE@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
A new COVID-19 testing site opened in JetBlue’s
Terminal 5 and John F. Kennedy International
Airport last week.
The testing location, which opened on Wednesday,
Nov. 18, will be fully operational for six months.
Created in partnership with the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey, JetBlue and the NYC Test
& Trace Corps, the site has the capacity for 600 tests
per day, and will provide free, walk-in testing seven
days a week, from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“New York City is fighting COVID-19 by building
the strongest testing infrastructure in the country,
and this new site at JFK Airport in partnership with
Jet Blue and the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey enhances our effort to reach audiences at the
key intersection of travel,” said Dr. Ted Long, the executive
director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps. “New
Yorkers are urged not to travel out of state, but for
those who must, and for essential airport and airline
workers, the new site and pilot program will allow
them to access safe testing and comply with the state’s
quarantine requirements to protect themselves and
their loved ones.”
The Test and Trace Corps expects to return the
results from tests done at the site in 48 hours.
The new site marks the second testing site at a New
York City airport. Last month, a testing site opened at
LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B.
youths while helping their peers
from the community avoid school
suspension, criminal and family
court appearances, and potential
violations of probation. The program,
offered at four QPL locations
including Cambria Heights, Laurelton,
Central and the Queens Public
Library for Teens in Far Rockaway,
has resumed virtually in October.
“Queens Defenders is honored
to partner with the Queens Public
Library on this grant award from
the Institute of Museum and Library
Services to address the needs of individuals
moving out of incarceration
and into the community, a transition
made even more challenging by
the COVID-19 pandemic,” Queens
Defenders Executive Director and
Founder Lori Zeno said. “This technology
focused initiative will help
individuals re-establish themselves
in the community as they aspire to
lead productive lives free of further
justice-system involvement. We look
forward to sharing lessons learned
so more individuals re-entering
society from incarceration can
benefit from the supports and access
to technology offered through this
program.”
QPL has a dedicated team of
staff members who assist formerly
justice-involved individuals as they
transition back into society, helping
them obtain a library card, teaching
them job skills and directing them
to job search resources, technology
workshops and literacy programs.
COVID-19 testing site opens at JFK Airport
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