Tonight at 5:30PM, The Doe Fund is hosting a town hall meeting to answer community’s questions regarding city’s decision to place 50 sex offenders in their East Williamsburg/Bushwick facility at 89 Porter Ave.

Earlier this month, we informed you that Department for Homeless Services has decided to place 50 sex offenders for housing in Peter Jay Sharp Center for Opportunity, a facility belonging to The Doe Fund. The Doe Fund runs there a transitional year-long residential work program called “Ready, Willing & Able,” which helps formerly homeless and incarcerated men through paid street cleaning work with vocational training and social services. 50 ‘men in blue’ will be removed from the program early and placed in homeless shelters instead.

The representative of The Doe Fund, Alexander Horwitz, told us that their facility is not equipped to handle sex offenders, “The difference between the population we know how to serve– and serve well– and sex offenders is profound.  We do not have psychiatrists on staff, we have no experience treating or managing sex offender issues, ” he said.

The Doe Fund has been protesting on several occasions against the city’s decision and sending the sex offenders back to Department for Housing Services on their own cost.

Tonight, the staff will answer any questions the community might have at their library and will talk about what the neighbors can do to keep the community safe.

Bushwick Town Hall Meeting, Peter Jay Sharp Center For Opportunity, 89 Porter Ave, East Williamsburg, today, July 22, 5:30-7:30PM. Refreshments will be served.