Reentry Assistance Bill for formerly incarcerated gets new support among allies, elected officials
Support is growing for the Reentry Assistance Bill to expand gate money into a $425 monthly stipend for the formerly. The post Reentry Assistance Bill for formerly incarcerated gets new support among allies, elected officials appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.
Black News 
Will 2026 be the year the Reentry Assistance Bill passes? Support is growing for the two-year-old legislation to expand gate money into a $425 monthly stipend (totaling $2,550 over six months) for people who recently returned home from prison.
“Currently, a lot of people go straight from prison to our shelter system, and even when they don’t, they spend about six months, on average, looking for work,” said Simone Price, Center for Employment (CEO) director of organizing. “That’s the average amount of time before someone can secure full-time employment. So what we’re trying to do is attack that for six months.”
To be clear, advocates do not see this bill as simply charity — they argue better cash assistance drives down recidivism by tackling employment, housing and reintegration. The money will not cover a month’s rent in New York City. But it can go towards a hotel, groceries or a ride to a job interview. Additionally, the funds can go towards family or friends supporting the returning citizens.
When legislators introduced the bill two years ago, gate money issued by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) would cap at just $40 and a bus ticket. The amount later grew to up to $200, but remains impacted by how much is in their commissary.
Last month, the bill’s main proponents — mainly criminal justice reform organizations and reentry providers like CEO, the Brennan Center, and Osborne Association — held a media roundtable discussion to renew conversation about the legislation sponsored by Rochester-based State Senator Jeremy Cooney and Manhattan-based Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs.
“Rehabilitation can’t only occur within prison walls,” said Cooney. “It’s an ongoing process that we should all be supporting. And that’s exactly where the Reentry Assistance Bill comes in.”
The bill was also notably co-sponsored by Mayor Zohran Mamdani while he served in the State Assembly. Price says there’s been no formal engagement since he came into office this year but there are plans to reconnect down the line. After all, many people come back home to New York City, the country’s most expensive city, after incarceration.
However, Councilmember Crystal Hudson serves as a key ally in the Five Boroughs. Last year, she successfully led a City Council resolution calling on the State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass the Reentry Assistance Bill.
“For my constituents in central Brooklyn and for communities across the cities, successful reentry means stronger families, safer streets and neighborhoods where people can thrive,” she said during the roundtable. “Resolution 371 reflects our commitment as a city to supporting this common sense solution and we urge the state to act.”
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