For the Media

Philly Residents Affected by Gun Violence will be Researching the Root Causes of the Crisis

WHYY, PBS

Philadelphia is one of five major cities receiving national funding to study the factors driving youth gun violence. The research model involves hiring people with lived experience to ask questions in their own neighborhoods. Our Elise White and Basaime Spate, who are leading the study, share how having credible people ask the questions will improve turnout and the quality of responses. "The folks who live the experience also end up controlling the data at the end, so they control the narrative. And that’s an extremely important thing when you look at the way that gun violence gets talked about,” says Dr. White, research director.

A New Group to Help Times Square Emerge from COVID-19 Pandemic

City & State

President of the Times Square Alliance, Tom Harris, talks about the area’s recovery and shares more about the partnership with our Midtown Town Community Court, Breaking Ground, and Fountain House to create the Community First program, which connects the unhoused populations of Times Square to local resources, including housing and mental health services.

Brooklyn Court Rethinks Incarceration for Individuals With Mental Illnesses

NowThis

NowThis, the social media-focused news outlet, created a five-video series on our Brooklyn Mental Health Court, which offers community-based treatment not incarceration for individuals with serious mental health diagnoses. Watch the following videos to learn more: Episode 1 - D.A. Eric Gonzalez, Episode 2 - Judge Matthew D'Emic, Episode 3 - Dave Kelly and Kerry Rowe, Episode 4 - Ruth O'Sullivan, Episode 5 - Colleen King

New Podcast Unites Youth from NYCHA Developments

Pix11

Youth Nation Grindin’ gives the youth in the communities the opportunity to step up to the mic and share their experiences. Eugene Rodriguez from the Neighborhood Safety Initiatives, one of the programs assisting with the podcast, said it’s not just about talking, it’s about listening to what young people have to say about what impacts them every day.

Many Cities are Putting Hopes in Violence Interrupters, but Few Understand Their Challenges

NBC News

Detailing some of the joys and challenges of violence interruption work, NBC News highlights Save Our Streets and interviews James Brodick, the Center for Court Innovation’s director of community development and crime prevention. He stresses the need for workforce development in communities, including violence interrupters, so they face less burn out or have ceilings on their professional trajectories.

Taking A Restorative Approach To Youth Justice

WNYC

WNYC Radio Rookies reporter Deborah Ugo-Omenukwa worked with the Center to explore restorative justice in youth courts. She spoke with our Brownsville Community Justice Center to learn more about restorative approaches to the legal system, and the difference between punishment and consequences.

How A Secretive Police Database Affects Young Black And Brown Men

WNYC

The Center’s Youth Action Institute (formerly called the Youth Justice Board) alum and current WNYC Radio Rookies reporter, Rainier Harris, is an advocate for abolishing the NYPD’s gang database, which he researched as part of our 2020 report called ‘All Eyes on Us.’ As Rainer shares on this segment, the database is a list of more than 17,000 people that police have labeled as gang members, often without any known affiliations to a gang.

New York Giants Touchdown Fellow Shambaleed Nayyer ’22 Aims To Decriminalize Mental Illness In Pakistan

John Jay College

John Jay College senior Shambaleed Nayyer is a winner of the 2021-2022 New York Giants Touchdown Fellowship, which supports year-long internships at leading criminal justice organizations. Through her fellowship, Shambaleed has been working with Center program Manhattan Justice Opportunities, researching felony alternatives to incarceration programs across the country, and exploring new ways to improve our programming.

Shania Roseborough ’22: New York Giants Touchdown Fellowship Unlocks Life-Changing Internship

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

John Jay College senior Shania Roseborough is a winner of the 2021-2022 New York Giants Touchdown Fellowship, which supports year-long internships at leading criminal justice organizations. Working with the Center’s Midtown Community Court, Shania is brainstorming different ways to further improve relationships with local communities and community-based organizations and is listening to justice-impacted folks to create new solutions to the system.

Common Council Sets Aside $800k to Help Syracuse Tenants Navigate Housing Problems

WAER 88.3

The Center’s Syracuse Peacemaking Center will continue operation for another two years, thanks to funding from the city’s Common Council. Program ambassadors are working with community partners and guest speakers to provide residents a safe place to talk and connect them with mental health services. Our Leah Russell tells WAER how the program has “seen firsthand how housing concerns are exacerbating mental health issues.”

Interview: Planner and Urban Designer Ifeoma Ebo

Architectural Record

Ifeoma Ebo, an urban designer and planner based in New York City, worked with the Center's Brownsville Community Justice Center and tenants of the Brownsville Houses to activate outdoor areas to build safe, shared spaces. In 2019, the Justice Center, young community members, and Ebo came together to create low-cost solutions and organized B-Lit, an event that transformed the park into a multicolored dance floor that welcomed residents of all ages.

Staten Island mom continues efforts to feed her neighborhood

PIX11

In response to a gas outage, Staten Island community members came together to create their own solution to fight food insecurity. A group of volunteers went door-to-door delivering food and supplies. Leticia Lucero from the Center's Neighborhood Safety Initiatives says the community really came together to do this work, sharing how great it feels to highlight positive things happening in communities, especially among all that's going on in the world.

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