I am new here and I am so glad to have stumbled across this site. I sure it will be a great source of comfort for me. I had a question for anyone who might have an answer. I heard about a program for convicted felons that entitles them to a set amount of money (determined by the time served) upon their release. Allegedly the only stipulation is that the money is to be put into a trust account and not touched for one year. After that it is supposed to be free and clear. My brother wrote in his last Letter that another inmate, who was only there temporarily while waiting to be move to a federal facility happened to have some infornational documents with this and much other related information. He asked the guy if he could look it over and make a copy of it in the prison library. When he got to go to the library the attendant/guard refused to make the copy for him, told him the papers were contraban (I assume because they did not actually belong to him prisons and jails are picky about that sort of thing) and attempted to confiscate them. He said he did some fast talking and got out of there with them and gave them back to the guy telling him he would look them over more the next day and simply copy the info he wanted by hand. Unfortunately the guy was moved to another prison the following morning. My poor brother. I've been on the net for several hours now scouring for any even closely related info. But we all know how the Gov is they'd rather burn money set aside for that sort of thing than to use it appropriately. My brother is no more than a rowdy kid who drank too much one nite went out walking and stole the wrong guys lunchbox out of his car I know it's dumb but the court calls that burglery! can you believe that? Yes it was dumb but not something that should warrant a felony charge or prison time. What ever happened to making the kid return the stolen item and apologize to the owner? lol My brother is actually a sweet soft hearted smartass. he's my free live entertainment and I miss him so much. Our dad died shortly after Justin (my bro) was arrested he was still in county pending trial. They absolutely refused to grant permission for him to attend the service, and because he burst to tears when he was told (by a guard because they would not allow our mother to speak to him directly) they called that..... I don't know what they called it but it was what prompted them to immediatly lock him down in his cell with nothing but his bed hte sink and toilet they took his library books pen paper everything and left him in there all alone for three days. I'd like to know the reasoning behind that. I'm holding back tears now thinking what that must have been like for him. This was last year september. He just turned 21 this past december and I still feel very much like he's a baby. I know so many have it worse. and I am sorry to seem self-centered. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. I would love to get any information you may have about hte financial aid. love and light--Karenina - I miss you justin

Kareniina,

First, I want to say Welcome to PTO!

Second, I want to I am sorry to hear of the loss of your Father, I do not understand why they have to be so cruel to someone at a time like that. They feel that they are protecting other inmates and staff, however, denying contact with family and others at a time of loss is far beyond cruel.

As far as, the program you spoke of, no I have not heard of it, perhaps others at PTO have and can answer your questions. I will look around myself and see if I can find something for you.

Patti

Sorry to hear about the loss of your father..I pray that you're able to cope with it.
Welcome to the PTO family

I too have not heard of any such possibilties for an ex-felon.

kareniina,
i am sorry for the loss of your father, may he rest in peace.

i really felt your pain for your brother..the whole situation with his incarceration sounds cruel and harsh....

i will keep you and your brother and family in my prayers..

i will ask my man, because he was talking about something that sounds like what you are describing..

much love and peace to you and your family
francis

I'm sorry about the loss of your dad and they way your brother was treated after finding out.... The humanity inside can be sorely lacking many times...

I haven't heard of this program, but he should be eligible for a pel grant when he gets out and after he establishes a gpa he should be eligible for scholarships offered at the college/university as well.... We also have a program in Michigan called "Michigan Works" that people who just get out can qualify for and I have many students who get help from them as well... I don't know if your state has something like that or not but it's a state program here for low income folks having a hard time finding a job etc.... It helps with up to a 2 years of school or with finding a job....

Deb

Deb

I am sorry to hear about your Father!!! I have never heard of this program, but I do now that felons are able to receive financial aid unless you have a drug conviction, then there is a whole different set of papers and stuff to go through!! I wish you luck!!

I know someone who did FED time and I know this doesn't help he told me that if you do FED time when you get out you are eligible for a quarter of a million dollars or 10,000 put into your account but you have to go in business for yourself he wouldn't give me any more details on it but told me to get in contact with him when I am done with my time. But you aren't going to find nothing on it on the net .. you know the gov

In Texas we have Project Rio and if the loved one has gone through a Substance abuse program and successfully graduated he is eligible for federal financial aid for college. Also Substance abuse is considered a disability and that makes the loved one eligible for help through the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. Try to find similar agencies in your area.

My fiance just mentioned something like that. He said that one of his buddies had some information about a grant that says that you get x amount of dollars for every year that you are incarcerrated. We added up his time. He would get about $14,000. He said that the program says that you would get an application, complete it and then you would receive the check a week later. I told my fiance to get it from that guy but he said that he didn't know if the guy would allow him to have me copy it. I tried looking for the information online but I had no luck. I even made some phone calls. He said it was senate bill #224. I could not find ANY information on it. You could probably do some research on that specific bill. I even email someone in Washington DC. He emailed me back and said that there was nothing on that specfic bill. Good luck. I will continue to look for some more information. Thanks!

My husband mentioned this also, however, I could not find any info on it at the time. I will continue my research. He could not provide me with any more information.

Kareniia,
I am sorry about the loss of your father. I lost my father when I was 22 yrs. I was not in your situation I could only imagine how it did not help. When my man lost a close family member the chaplin I spoke with asked if he wanted me to tell him or the chaplin himself. I told him I prefered to. My man called me later saying that the chaplin told him. Sometimes they are so inconsiderate in these situations. If you or anyone finds out anything else about this money upon release please let us know.

I also have heard of these programs and have paperwork on them , but I have had no luck substantiating it. It seems there is no such program. The paperwork I have is pieced together and has been copied several times. I believe this is just bull propaganda probablly started to amuse some CO's. Of course everyone wants to believe they can get free money but I do not belive it will happen. I am still researching this and will continue to do so. Try contacting the Social Security Administration. They seem to be the group the free money is supposed to come from. Like I said I have had no such luck. If you find anything out please let me know. I will try to get a copy of the paper work on to this forum but I am using a public library computer so I do not know if they will allow me to scan the info into the computer. I will see. Best of luck.

a neighbor of mine (here in IL) was recently released. there IS a program here in IL. He receives like $50 a month from the state until he finds employment... He said he doesnt know anything bout it since his PO did the paperwork for him.... Not too helpful information, but i know ther IS something out there.. and not much but...

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218252 Here is a thread that I posted I hope this will help. This is in Alabama but it is governmental on several issues. Good Luck!!

Wow how amazing to know there is help if you ask the right questions and are willing to be patient and do the work. Thanks for the info. ( I realize this is a year later) hopefully someone is still here. peace

Could you please tell me what this is regarding? is there some type of program to help my boyfriend when he gets out? Please let me know.

AMBER

I would also like to know what this about. Is there help out there?

Very interesting. I don't see anyone posting that they got this.
How about this? I no we have some men and women here who have been released from Federal, Is this true? you can draw S S if you have worked before going in? They call it disability! DONT BE ASHAMED OF IT. IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING, TO HELP PEOPLE GET STARTED AGAIN IN LIFE.

I used to work in a prison and that same flyer from SS was floating around saying that since they were incarcerated they were entitled to benefits. This is NOT TRUE!!!! Being incarcerated is not a disability and there is no money that is given out for that. I dont know who started the whole things, but dont count on it. The only inmates that are entitled to Social Security are the ones that have a disability such as mental illness or a physical disability that truly impacts their ability to function and/or work. The only money that they would qualify for would be social services such as welfare and foodstamps. As for help, there is no place that gives out monetary benefits but they can get grants for school or help through the department of labor to helop them find a job. Other than that, there isnt anything out there.

Thanks for posting this information. So it IS NOT in the S S Book?

Its funny because my hubby they just mentioned this same info to him just the other day. ha! I personally have a friend who has been out for 3 yrs or so and I do recall him stating that he receives money from SSI, I believe so I cant really say if its all 100% true, Its interesting? Cause after such a long time 19+ arent they intiteled to something. If anyonme knows of more info, especially for NYS send me a message or post, I will do the same to all if I find out more information on this.


Thanks

Have a good night

Hey,

Being a former inmate in Connecticut I had completed my High School Dimploma Program and began taking a college level accounting course while in prison. One of my teachers had mentioned to me there is programs for felons, not just federally held prisoners, to attend college for reduced fees. She specifically told me of one that allows a convitcted felon to attend college for the first year free if you are a full time student. She mentioned she has known inmates who signed up full time, got their classes paid for then dropped a couple to lighten their work load.
I've been released now for almost a year and I want to attend college myself. I plan on making some calls very soon to find out anything I can about these programs. If i get any credible information I will definitly return to this site with updates.
I really wouldnt expect free money from social security or any agency really... they arent just going to send you a check for breaking the law... maybe if someone was wrongfully held ect... but otherwise financial aid for college doesnt seem too far fetched for rehabilitating felons.

Welcome to PTO! You will find lots of information here along with support and encouragement. Congrats on being out a year and for making the decision to go back to college!

Good luck in College! Try the Government Grants or better yet, call the college you want to attend and ask about College grants for Felons. They should have the answers for you.

My hubby sent me a paper with all kinds of info on it to help inmates when they got out. None of them panned out. SSI is almost impossible to get just because you are a felong and can't get a job. The best thing to do is look up Government grants and go back school and train for a better Job. College degrees do help when you are applying and especially if you got it AFTER you did your time.
Good luck to all of you!

well here is my 2 cents worth from what i know while i was in prison i ran across this same sort of list about all the help you can get the first thing i noticed on each and everyone i ran across that it had several miss spellings and was attempted to look like it was printed by the government i took it to be a sham as it is i ran across a paper from ss posted in law lib and else where in the prison from ss saying this was something that was not available it appears that this list was made up by an inmate to sell to others ive seen it bought and sold numerous times i did look into these things and found nothing hell i wasnt even able to get foodstamps still cant get a straight answer from them been out a year and a half now doing soso staying out of trouble doing odd jobs and working on fixing cars to sell surviving without breaking the law its not easy but better than the 7 years i spent locked up like they say if it looks to good to be true it probally is and that appears to be the case with the ss bull

A friend of mine was released from Prison here in Florida. He showed me the grant paperwork he got before he was released. For college, I think he may have gotten from his CO.

I don't really know of any particular programs that offer monetary assistance but there are severla organizations that help offenders with re-entry. One place in Florida is called first step - they do provide emergency funds (vouchers direct to provider) for a place to live for a week, they will provide a bicycle for transportation, clothes, assist with groceries. Goodwill around here also provides free clothes (by referral from another agency) for someone to attend an interview or for winter wear. First Step works closely with probation and parole and other counseling organizations. Then there is the Salvation Army who provides a lot of valuable resources and information. As someone said earlier, as long as you do not have a felony conviction, you are eligible for college grants, loans. There is a list of resources on the Florida DOC website (not sure if it is available on the Public side or not) but someone about to get released in Florida should ask their classification officer about the names of these places, wouldn't hurt to contact them and see if they could offer assistance or direction since this is what they are in the business to do. Also local churches are most often very willing to assist, not necessarily monetarily but will assist with finding work, a place to stay, food, clothing, etc. When I get back to work, I will look them up and post them here. Best thing to do is make some calls on your own, No the DOC does not keep us updated on available resources, so we are as blind as those seeking the resources. I just take the initiative to search things out on my own, so if someone asks me a question, I don't come off like a totally mindless idiot, as do quite a number of my co-workers and even superiors. My theory is - is you ask me a question I do not have an answer to - chances are you will not be the last person to ask that question - but next time I will have some kind of answer. :)