
SUNY Downstate secures $500K grant to help justice-impacted persons productively reenter society

FLATBUSH — SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER has secured a $500,000 grant to launch a Back To Brooklyn Program for former justice-impacted individuals. SUNY Downstate announced on Thursday, Jan. 23 that its Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program has received a $500K grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to establish a community-based medical home for justice-impacted individuals returning to Brooklyn. The program seeks to improve access to healthcare and retention in care for reentering individuals with chronic medical and behavioral health conditions, and it addresses social determinants of health to enhance their overall quality of life. Back to Brooklyn prioritizes retention by establishing a patient-centered medical home tailored to the unique needs of former justice-impacted individuals. The program incorporates co-located medical care, behavioral health services, comprehensive case management, and social and peer-delivered support. Key to this model is the inclusion of community health workers (CHWs) who have lived-experience with incarceration. The two-year Mother Cabrini Health Foundation grant will allow STAR to expand its services significantly, focusing on individuals returning to Brooklyn from New York State and New York City correctional facilities.
Nearly 5,000 individuals return to Brooklyn annually after incarceration, with many coming from the Central Brooklyn neighborhoods that Downstate Medical serves. Back to Brooklyn’s comprehensive services aim to break the cycle of high rates of chronic disease, mental illness, and substance use disorders, added to the social and economic challenges that can lead to recidivism and poverty.
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