At Rikers, comedians, dogs, and people in custody mix — for a cause

NEW YORK (PIX11) — What do you get when you bring a half-dozen comedians to Rikers Island, along with dogs? It should come as no surprise if that’s a question that sounds like a comedy routine because, in fact, it is — in a very unconventional way, for a very good cause.

The group of comedians was brought to the GRVC incarceration unit at the city’s jail to perform in front of a group of people in custody, as a way to lift spirits and attract attention to an innovative program behind bars.

Mike Brown was one of the comedians.

“When I got invited to this,” he said in an interview in the cellblock where the standup show was held, “I thought, ‘Oh yeah, of course I’m doing this. At the very least this is going to be a story.'”

“I’m talking, ‘I went to Rikers,'” he continued, referencing his reaction to receiving his invitation to perform at the jail, “‘I do comedy,'” he said, deadpan. “‘I’m good, I’m solidified.”

In addition to the people in custody, the audience was made up of four-legged fans — dogs from two different animal rescue organizations: Brixies and Waggy Tail.

The other audience members, who are behind bars, in custody, were not cleared to do media interviews, but their loud laughter, clapping, and occasional knee slapping showed clearly that they enjoyed the comedic content.

Their petting, scratching, and stroking of the dogs showed that they enjoyed having canines along with comedy.

The uniformed audience members are being considered for a program to train in veterinary practices, and therapy and support animal development.

Waggy Tail Rescue was the main organizer of the Rikers Island standup session. The organization’s president, Holly DeRito, also does standup comedy. She brought her love of dogs and her love of laughter together to create an event that even attracted actor and comedian David Cross, who starred in the shows “Arrested Development” and “Mr. Show,” among other projects.

Waggy Tail’s efforts resulted in emotionally beneficial hilarity, its president said.

“It’s important for everybody to experience joy and hope,” said DeRito, “and dogs bring that out so much more than humans.”

The coordinator of the training program, called PAWS of Purpose, is Kristina Justice, a correction officer at Rikers. She’d been asked to revive the program this summer, after it had been discontinued when the pandemic struck.

The day that she was asked to lead was the day after her Great Dane died.

“When she passed away, it was super devastating to my family,” Justice said, “and I was like, ‘You know what? I need to give this a chance, and kind of touch more lives and more people,'” she said. “More people and more dogs.”

Thanks to Justice’s efforts, the PAWS program has returned. It launched with a noteworthy start, because of the comedians. Many of them said that they plan to return to Rikers as well.

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