By: Anna Lucente Sterling, Spectrum News/NY1
When Keith Hunter was released from prison in 2020, it took him two-and-a-half years to secure the keys to his own apartment.
Having a stable roof over his head gave Hunter, whose criminal record includes a slew of robbery convictions, a sense of stability after spending more than half of his life in the prison system.
But for several months, he felt unsettled, unable to furnish his Brooklyn apartment with little more than the single bed and two nightstands that came with the unit. Then, he connected with the nonprofit organization Gift It Away, which provides furniture donations for formerly incarcerated people.