“Network is a chance to change, to confront our mistakes and accept responsibility for our lives.”
Our Work
More than rehabilitation, Network is both a therapeutic community and a way of life. We teach individuals, working together, to be better people, so that they can, upon re-entry, become positive forces for change in their own lives, their families and neighborhoods.
Serving incarcerated individuals in New York, Network Support Services builds communities inside and outside of prison by supporting these individuals throughout their journey. We engage people who are committed to changing and rebuilding their lives through our prison-based therapeutic programs.
Network in the Prisons
Everyday, there are men and women who wake up inside New York prisons - and actually generate a caring, growth-filled environment. In structured sessions, Network members confront past mistakes and old ways of thinking to focus on behavioral change. Each individual sets personal goals, working together in a community built on peer-to-peer support that helps each person achieve those goals. Network is open to all who can demonstrate commitment - these individuals have earned the right to participate in the program. They may not have studied cognitive-behavioral therapy, but they definitely are living it. For many, it’s the first time they have let down their guard and shared their feelings. These individuals do the heavy-lifting, choosing to be vulnerable and taking responsibility for their lives and futures.
Network provides transformative programs in New York State correctional facilities:. Several are Modular, where Network members gather weekly for therapeutic group sessions, educational workshops and re-entry preparation. Other programs are Residential, where groups of 50 individuals live, engage and work together 24/7 in community programming. Workshops and coursework include:
Communication Skills and Public Speaking
Entrepreneurship
Anger Management Training
Conflict Resolution, Mindfulness and Stress Reduction
Anger Management Training
Addiction Support and Substance Abuse Prevention
Conflict Resolution, Mindfulness and Stress Reduction
Life Skills and Financial Literacy
Communication Skills and Public Speaking
Education - ABE, GED, Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy, Organic Farming
Discharge Planning, Resumé Writing, Life Plan Development
Network: A Dynamic History
Network is a bold, breakthrough program, yet it’s not new. For four decades, Network has been effectively empowering incarcerated and paroled individuals to transform their lives and successfully re-enter society. Originally founded in 1979 by Father Stephen J. Chinlund, a brilliant and relentless advocate for progress in the New York State correctional system, the Network program grew to be a force for good in twenty-six NY State prisons. The program, then under the combined direction of Episcopal Social Services of New York and the Department of Correction and Community Supervision, eventually became two distinct entities.
Father Chinlund continued the Network program, renamed to address the trauma of incarceration on individuals and their families, Healing Communities Network (HCN), a project of The Fund for the City of New York. And in 2010, under the leadership of educator and advocate, Anne J. Williams, the second entity, NETWORK, became an independent, not-for-profit organization. Ms. Williams developed and expanded an array of support services for NETWORK members inside prison and throughout New York’s communities.