Upstate to Long Island: Reentry Housing Options for Out-of-County Release

homelesslongisland
Jun 24
4 min read

New York State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) strictly enforces the "no release to the streets" rule, meaning a parole officer or counselor must formally approve a residential address before he can walk out.

If family or friends cannot provide a temporary address, the state must coordinate an emergency or transitional placement. Here is exactly what you need to do right now, and what you should tell him.

What You Need to Do Right Now

1. Contact the Facility's Reentry/Discharge Planner

Call the prison where he is currently held and ask to speak with his Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator (ORC) or the Discharge/Reentry Planner.

The Action: Inform them directly that the current private housing plan has fallen through, and he requires an institutional or county-referred address for release.
Why: DOCCS is legally obligated to coordinate with the local Department of Social Services (DSS) to find emergency shelter or a Community Based Residential Program (CBRP) if an inmate is otherwise homeless.

2. Connect with Long Island Reentry Task Forces

Both Nassau and Suffolk counties have specialized County Reentry Task Forces (CRTF) designed specifically to handle housing, logic, and safety nets for individuals transitioning out of state prison.

Suffolk County: Contact the START Resource Center run by the Sheriff's Office at (631) 852-5391. They explicitly coordinate discharge planning and temporary housing referrals for individuals returning to Suffolk.
Nassau County: Contact the EAC Network Re-Entry Program or the Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC) of Nassau County at (516) 292-9710.
NYS counties: contact your local county reentry task force.

3. Contact Long Island Reentry & Forensic Housing Non-Profits

Several specialized organizations on Long Island bridge the gap by providing approved addresses and transitional beds specifically for justice-involved individuals:

Hands Across Long Island (HALI) - Forensic Re-Entry: Located in Central Islip, they provide direct housing bridge support for individuals coming out of incarceration. Call (631) 234-1925.
Mercy Haven: Provides temporary and supportive housing services across Long Island. Call (631) 277-8300.
Research and contact your local county Reentry non-profits

Navigating this when the person is out of the local area adds another layer of complexity, but the absolute first thing to determine is whether they are in a County Jail or a State Prison.

The rules, who you talk to, and how the address is handled are completely different depending on which one it is.

Scenario A: They are in an Upstate NY State Prison

If they are in a New York State facility (run by DOCCS), the state retains jurisdiction over them no matter where they are physically located.

The Rule: A person is legally supposed to be released to their "county of commitment" (the county where they were convicted and sentenced), unless an out-of-county address is investigated and approved by Parole ahead of time.
What this means for you: If they were originally sentenced in Nassau or Suffolk County but are physically locked up in an upstate prison (like Attica, Franklin, Coxsackie, etc.), their release plan is still tied to Long Island.
What to do: You do not need to contact the local upstate Department of Social Services. Instead, follow the exact steps from before: have the inmate contact their facility ORC (Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator) and state that they are homeless upon release and need a referral to the Long Island (Nassau or Suffolk) local DSS/shelter system. State prison transportation will physically provide them with a bus or train ticket back down to Long Island upon release.

Scenario B: They are in an Upstate County Jail

If they are in a county jail (run by an upstate County Sheriff's Department) for a local charge or a short sentence (under one year), the system works entirely differently. Jails do not have the same sweeping state-level discharge planning infrastructure that prisons do.

The "Out of County" Problem: Upstate county jails and upstate local Departments of Social Services (DSS) generally will not provide housing or shelter placement for someone who intends to live on Long Island. Conversely, Nassau and Suffolk DSS usually require a person to physically show up at a local Long Island intake center to get emergency housing—they cannot "hold" a shelter bed for someone sitting in a jail 300 miles away.
What to do right now:
Call the jail and ask to speak with their Discharge Planner or Inmate Services Coordinator.
Ask them explicitly: "What is the facility’s policy for releasing a homeless individual whose tie-and-reentry plan is in a downstate county?"
Find out their exact release time. Because the jail will not transport them to Long Island, you or someone else may need to coordinate a bus ticket (Greyhound/Trailways) or a ride from the upstate jail directly back down to Long Island immediately upon release.

What to Do

Upstate State Prison:

"Even though you are physically upstate right now, your release is still being processed for Long Island. Go see your ORC immediately. Tell them your private housing fell through, you are going back to Nassau/Suffolk, and you need them to initiate an institutional homeless referral to Long Island DSS so you have an approved intake location when the release date hits."

If he is in an Upstate County Jail:

"Because you are in a local jail, they are going to release you right from the front doors of the facility. They will not arrange an address for you down on Long Island. We need to coordinate exactly how you are getting from the jail to the nearest bus station the day you get out, so you can get straight down to Long Island and walk directly into the local DSS emergency housing office."

If you know the specific name of the facility he is sitting in right now, let me know and I can tell you exactly which category it falls into.