Friends Of Island Academy Inc

Friends of Island Academy was founded in 1990 to anchor and develop capacity among adolescents newly released from jail in New York City. The concept for Friends developed in the late 1980’s at the alternative high school located on Rikers Island (known then as Island Academy). The organization was rooted in collaboration between New York City Department of Education staff on Rikers, social service staff and community advocates who wanted to address the recidivism rates, untapped potential and disproportionate minority representation among thousands of adolescents who attended high school on Rikers Island each year.

Friends’ model of engagement with at-risk adolescents uses youths’ time in custody as a primary point of intervention. After forging relationships in jail and secure facilities, we engage youth through an array of post-release services and opportunities. Through neighborhood-based supports, advocacy and mentorship, we offer our youth members a sense of belonging and opportunities for achievement. The longer they remain engaged with Friends, the greater the influence we have on their trajectory toward becoming economically independent young adults, connected to their communities in positive ways.

In fiscal year 2014, approximately 19,000 young adults between the ages of 16 and 21 were released from Department of Correction custody and returned home. In New York City, there is no system of aftercare for the young adult population; young adults are released from Rikers with no discharge planning to connect them with supportive services that help contend with the numerous difficulties associated with reentry. For young adults discharged from New York City jails, unemployment, homelessness, and behavioral health issues contribute to very high rates of recidivism – three times the rate of those over age 30.

Our organization and its services are rooted in a passion for and belief in our individual youth members’ resilience and ability to achieve. We are small and our services are intense, personal and flexible. Our approach to service delivery incorporates the key principles of evidence-based practice derived from the research on risk reduction and draws from what our field has learned over the last two decades. These include principles of positive youth development (giving youth a sense of belonging and opportunities to achieve), tailored services driven by risk/need assessments and recognition of adolescents’ brain development and readiness for change. These aspects of our vision have neither changed nor wavered since our earliest years of operation.