By Anna M. Kross [Part 3 of 3] More than a generation ago, NYC Correction Commissioner Anna M Kross issued a 746-page review of her dozen years heading the city jails. She entitled it Progress Through Crisis: 1954 -1965 | Pages 114-121 detailed Women's House of Detention program successes and limitations. All the text and most images appear in this presentation. |
[Part III of text extracted from NYC DOC 1954-65 report pages 114-115. The body text here is from Page 115.]
Stressing pride in personal appearance, a necessary psychological concomitant of rehabilitation, special classes have been held to instruct women prisoners in the formulae for dress and manner improvement.
Each inmate of the House of Detention for Women is permitted a periodic morale-building beauty treatment including hairdo ard manicure at the institutional Beauty Salon, which was licensed by the State in 1959 as the Number Ten Greenwich Avenue Beauty School (established by the Commissioner with the indispensable help of volunteers).
By the end of 1964, twenty young women had graduated after taking the State-prescribed courses at this initutional School, had thereafter passed the New York State Cosmetology Examinations, and had been awarded their State Certificates.
It is noteworthy that every one of these former prisoners, having acquired this honorable vocation, has made good her chosen profession, and that not a single one of these rehabilitated women has turned to prison.
Each graduate is supplied a complete beauty kit by our volunteers when she has received her State Certificate, to enable her to compete successfully with young women who have had their training in outside schools.
This is a far cry frorn the absolute dearth of educational, vocational, recreational and hobbycraft activities that existed in 1954.
Much credit for the programming available today is owed to the Friendly Visitors, From our volunteers, under the guidance of our Social Service Staff, have come many donations, not only of money for indigent prisoners but of such everyday necessities and comforts as eye-glasses and orthopedic shoes, books and newspapers and magazines, carfare home and temporary board and lodgings for needy discharged prisoners, aid in finding jobs, and other similar help.
All this has, perforce, been done on a scale never large enough even to begin fill the need.
An excellent groundwork has been laid on which to build an expanded, all-inclusive treatment program for women prisoners whenever the wherewithal becomes available.
Full implementation of this Rehabilitation Program for women prisoners that has been set into motion must await allocation of adequate funds, sufficient personnel and ample facilities.
The latter are already in sight since architect's plans are now being detailed on the drawing boards.
The Rikers Island site for the new women's prison has already been cleared, and funds for construction have been allocated.
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