DELANCEY STREET FOUNDATION (CA, NY, NC, & NM)

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Program Description
Mimi Silbert, a criminal psychologist, and John Maher, a former alcoholic, heroin addict, and criminal, established the Delancey Street Foundation in 1971. Its compound is made up of stylish stores, town houses, a Town Hall, a restaurant, and a park, all of which act as a home and training center to over 500 individuals who were formerly incarcerated. The compound was built by Delancey Street residents, many
of whom came to the Foundation from the criminal justice system with little or no skills. Delancey Street acts as a residential education center that assists former offenders and former substance abusers.

At the core of the Foundation is the belief that behavior can be changed in a structured, supportive, market-driven environment in which individual responsibility and accountability are emphasized. Participants are required to stay in the program for two years, although the average stay is about four years. When participants arrive, they live in dorm-style rooms with as many as nine roommates and take on basic chores such as mopping and cleaning the parks.The system at the Foundation is based on an “each one teach one” principle, in which participants learn from each other and hand down skills so that others can move into new work positions. One of the first goals is to achieve a high school equivalency degree. Afterwards, participants learn skills at one of the Foundation’s training schools: a moving and trucking school, a restaurant and catering services, a print and copy shop, retail and wholesale sales, paratransit services, advertising specialties sales, Christmas tree sales and decorating, and an automotive service center, among others.

All the staff at the Delancey Street operations are former offenders or substance abusers or were homeless. Most of the funds generated by the Delancey businesses support the Delancey community; in return, the residents receive food, housing, and a small stipend. According to the program, more than 14,000 individuals have successfully graduated from the program and are leading independent lives. The Foundation has expanded over the years; about 1,000 residents live in five facilities across the nation.

Program Goals
The goals of Delancey Street are to turn around the lives of former prisoners and former substance abusers by empowering them to lead independent and successful lives.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
Delancey is self-governed by a board and resident councils that are one-third African American, onethird Latino/American Indian, and one-third Caucasian. The Delancey Street Foundation has developed the Delancey CIRCLE or Coalition to Revitalize Communities, Lives, Education, and Economies. The thought behind this coalition is to network with cities and states across the country in order to educate others about Delancey Street and to advocate for polices that support the Delancey Street model.

Outcomes
The Delancey Street Foundation reports that the following outcomes have been achieved through the work of its programs:

• Delancey participants have built and remodeled over 1,500 low-income housing units and trained over 800 individuals in the construction trade.
• Over 10,000 formerly illiterate people have high school equivalency degrees.
• 1,000 have graduated with a diploma from the state accredited three-year vocational program (which is taught by Delancey residents), and 30 students have received a Bachelor of Arts from the Delancey chartered college.
• The program has moved about 1,000 violent gang members away from gangs; over 5,000 Delancey participants teach and mentor on non-violence.
• The program has developed over 20 ventures. These enterprises are run by Delancey graduates who teach other individuals via the “each one teach one” philosophy. The foundation supports itself primarily through the funds generated by these businesses.

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