A new program at the Queens Public Library aims to help ex-convicts integrate into the job market and society through easy access to smartphones and job training.
The program, dubbed “Immediate Access: Reentry to Technology Program,” will provide 75 exprixes with smart phones equipped with data, online resources and job training for two years.
In a press release, the library reported that the program aims to benefit parolees who have been incarcerated for decades, even before smartphones became a common fixture of today’s society.
Those released during the coronavirus pandemic face an even more difficult transition with fewer job opportunities, the statement read.
The program has a trained team dedicated to helping ex-offenders obtain library cards, learn job skills, understand technology, gain literacy, and find jobs.
Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott said the program is more important than ever as the coronavirus pandemic continues to drive up unemployment rates in New York City. The New York Department of Labor estimated that the city had an unemployment rate of 14.1 percent in September, down from 3.7 percent the previous year.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made the transition from life inside a correctional facility to life outside extremely challenging,” Walcott said in a statement.
The program was created as a joint initiative with Queens Defenders, which offers free legal representation to Queens County residents.
Lori Zeno, executive director of Queens Defenders, said the program will provide residents with the tools to prevent recidivism.
“This technology-focused initiative will help people reestablish themselves in the community as they aspire to lead productive lives,” Zeno said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing the lessons learned so that more people re-entering society from incarceration can benefit from the supports and access to technology that this program offers.”
The program is funded by a federal grant of $ 330,000 offered to museums and libraries through the Coronavirus Relief, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
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