People who have been incarcerated struggle with an array of challenges that can derail their efforts to reintegrate into society. Since 1967, the Fortune Society has been dedicated to helping the formerly incarcerated navigate those challenges and thrive as successful, engaged members of the community.
Guided by a commitment to building people rather than prisons, Fortune operates 190 units of transitional and permanent housing at its three main facilities in the New York City area and provides comprehensive social services to help ex-offenders break free from the cycle of repeated crime and incarceration. The nonprofit serves approximately 7,000 people each year.
Now, with support from the Leviticus Fund, Fortune is undertaking a new project that will extend its reach and impact in the area even further.
In March 2020, Leviticus provided a $1 million loan to finance the predevelopment activities associated with the construction of Fortune’s Castle III, a new, 15-story, 68,000-square-foot housing facility in Manhattan. Castle III will provide 55 supportive housing units for previously incarcerated and formerly homeless individuals, as well as 21 affordable housing units for low- and very low-income households.
Fortune will offer Castle III’s supportive housing tenants access to a variety of services to help them address the challenges that individuals face when returning home from incarceration, including histories of trauma, mental and physical health issues, substance use disorder, limited work experience and job skills, and a lack of relationships that foster productive engagement. The project also will include a community facility that Fortune will use as a training center.
The Fortune Society expects to complete construction of Castle III in the spring of 2023. The new facility will stand as the latest testament to the organization’s enduring belief in the power of people to change.
