The First 72+

A huge thank you to Allen Correctional Center for hosting us at their annual Resource Fair. The fair provided currently incarcerated men being released in the next 12 months with the opportunity to get connected with resources across the state before coming home. Our team members connected with 16 new pre-release clients! Educating about the resources we provide serves as a source of hope for those currently incarcerated. Our team members drove a whopping 11 hours to speak with the men at Allen and provide context about our organization, as well as determine what services we can begin working with them on prior to their release.

Members of our team traveled to Rayburn Correctional Center today for their 8th Annual Incarcerated Veterans Summit. This outreach opportunity allowed us to connect with currently incarcerated veterans and begin preparing for their upcoming release dates and parole hearings. We’re so grateful for this opportunity to begin building a relationship with individuals before they come home! If you have a loved one who is incarcerated and may be returning home in the coming months, reach out to our office! Our Pre-Release team will work with the client and the facility to begin crafting a reentry plan before their release. Call our office at (504) 324-8859 with a referral, or write a letter to our office at 2915 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70119.

The First 72+ is excited to announce a new leadership structure alongside the transition of one of our biggest champions. Our Executive Director, Troy Glover, is transitioning out of his role as Executive Director. Troy has been one of the First 72’s biggest champions and we are excited about the growth The First 72+ has experienced under Troy’s leadership. We look forward to what the future holds! The First 72+ has carried out incredible work for over a year under his direction and we are grateful that he will continue to aid the organization during this transition to ensure the new leadership team is well-prepared. Reverend Tyrone Smith has agreed to return to his role as Co-Executive Director of the First 72+ and Courtney Evans has agreed to step in as the Interim Co-Executive Director. From its founding, the First 72+ has kept at its core the value that formerly incarcerated people know best what other formerly incarcerated people need. This structure will enable the First 72+ to embrace this value as we continue to do the work that we all love so much. Please join us in congratulating Rev. Smith and Courtney on their new roles and in thanking Troy for his dedicated service.

Welcome to our new?Avodah?Service Corps Members for the upcoming year, Abby and Tali! Our partnership with Avodah began in 2018 and continues to add capacity to our always-growing organization. In fact, two former Avodahs have joined our team as full-time staff members since 2022! Tali will serve as our Programs Administrator, helping out in the Public Benefits Clinic and working on our Economic Empowerment programming. Abby will serve as our Operations Coordinator, helping create quarterly newsletters, engage with donors, and lead our communications team. We value our partnerships, both with other community organizations and national organizations like Avodah.?#CollaboratingForChange

At The First 72+, we understand the importance of housing. 85% of people who are incarcerated return home. It’s on us to welcome them with open arms and accept them fully into our communities. Over the past 10 years, we have responded to that need and continued to increase our housing options to individuals returning home from incarceration. Our original transitional house was gifted to us by one of our co-founders, which started housing 5 men at a time. One of our case managers, Wayne, lived in that house when he was released on parole in 2018! We broke ground in 2021 on our Ben Smith Welcome Home Center, named after our late co-founder, Ben Smith. This home, housing 13 men at a time, opened 1 year ago, on September 18, 2023! Many of you joined us for the celebration – and we want you to join us for our 10th anniversary Gala on October 11, 2024. We will continue to celebrate the founding of our organization and our continued growth. Additionally, you can support upcoming projects like our Tiny Homes with?Phoenix Project Nola?by purchasing a ticket to our Gala or donating on our website!

The First 72+ has continued to grow over the last year and expand on what services we provide! Want a quick review? Swipe through to understand what programs we offer, who we serve, and how we got our name.

Happy 10 year Freedomversary to Mr. Lonnie Cooley, the first client to go through our transitional housing program all the way back in 2014. Mr. Lonnie spent 39 years in Angola without indication that he would ever make it back home. In 2014, the Louisiana Parole Board granted him parole on the condition that he would come to our newly opened transitional home. Mr. Lonnie was a key player in the team that envisioned The First 72+ in its early days. He arrived at an unfurnished house and built it up into a home. To this day, Mr. Lonnie is an active alum and comes by our office on his days off from work to check in on our staff and current residents. Mr. Lonnie proved to us all just how powerful this model is. 10 years is a pretty exciting milestone! Want to help us celebrate our 10 years? Purchase a ticket to our gala here! https://lnkd.in/e2nDEExU ???

As one resident moves out, another takes his place! Last week, we congratulated our new alum, Mr. Ben, as he moved from our transitional house into his own apartment. The same day, we welcomed two new residents into our transitional housing program, Mr. Dedric and Mr. Keith. Between these three men, nearly a century was spent behind bars. One special moment occurred when Mr. Keith and Mr. Ben recognized each other, realizing that they spent time in the same camp at Angola over 20 years ago. We’re always inspired to witness a reunion on this side of the fence!

The First 72+ is honored to receive $13,000 in supplies from the Federal Reserve! ?????? This partnership began pre-pandemic, when the Federal Reserve was drawn to our organization based upon our economic mobility model. Eager to reconnect, we were lucky enough to work with their team in December to understand what supplies we needed most – with the most exciting donation being 25 laptops for our clients! Our clients will now have access to computers to help with job applications, building technology skills, and applying for housing. Clients also now have access to bus passes for transportation to our office in order to access these new services. In addition to computers, the Federal Reserve was kind enough to provide us with 50 backpacks loaded with school supplies, as well as boxes of hygiene supplies and home essentials. Thank you to the Federal Reserve – our clients are set up with success with these new tools! Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, The Fountain Fund

Our team was honored to attend the opening of the exhibit “Captive State: Louisiana and the Making of Mass Incarceration” at?The Historic New Orleans Collection. Our team was honored to be one of the first groups to see the exhibit, which shines a light on the linkages between slavery and mass incarceration. A special thank you to the curators who gave us a guided tour of the space and engaged in a conversation about how we advance racial justice in our work. Don’t miss this FREE exhibit, open from now until January!