Community Justice takes all of us. Our team at Queens Community Justice Center was joined by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, the Muslim Bar Association of New York, and Queens-based juice shop We Juicing to provide 300 turkeys, free Mets tickets, and delicious juices to the Queens community.
“Reentry to me, is a second chance at life,” said Ramon Semorile, who runs the Reentry Anonymous Group at Bronx Community Solutions. Ramon and his team gathered community partners together at Hostos College in the Bronx to connect people returning from incarceration to help with housing, health care, employment opportunities, and other crucial needs. After the resource fair, returning citizens spoke on a panel about how their own experiences with incarceration and reentry help them to support others now embarking on the same journey.
One in four women and one in seven men have experienced intimate partner violence. Domestic violence is not a private issue, it is a community issue that calls for community-based solutions. Like our RISE Project shows every year with a bike ride, press conference, and candlelight vigil, Community Justice means raising our voices for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“When Brownsville wins, everybody wins.” The [B]Live Music and Arts Festival has brought thousands of community members together over the years for music, dance, creativity, and connection in Brownsville, Brooklyn. A celebration of Brownsville’s resilience and talent produced by young people from the neighborhood, it’s a powerful example of what Community Justice can look like. Organized in partnership with BRIC, this year’s [B]Live featured delicious food, art exercises, local service providers, and performances from iconic artists like Dave East, Cassidy, and Jesse Royal.
At the “Coffee Corner,” a partnership between our Brooklyn Justice Initiatives team and Fountain House, participants in New York City’s Supervised Release Program can stop by for a friendly conversation and free coffee, tea, or soda. There are no strings attached—just a human exchange over a refreshing drink. This is Community Justice. Read more about this important work.
At the Center for Justice Innovation, Community Justice is at the heart of everything we do—and we believe it’s the foundation of strong, healthy communities. In this animated video, you'll see how with our innovative programs, field-leading research, and decades of experience, the Center for Justice Innovation is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between our communities and the systems that serve them. Together, we plant the seeds that grow Community Justice.
"How can we best serve those who have served us and are coming through our court system?" That question was at the center of the two-day Veterans Treatment Court Summit our Recovery and Reform team hosted at the National Veterans Resource Center in Syracuse, New York. The summit brought together more than 100 practitioners from across the country—including judges, attorneys, mentors, and more—to connect, collaborate, and learn from each other's experiences bringing support to veterans in the criminal justice system.
This video introduces Street Action Network! Co-Directors Basaime Spate and Javonte Alexander share their cutting-edge approach to address gun violence in the communities that face the highest rates of gun violence. Led by a team with lived experience and high social capital in the streets, Street Action Network will build on the research approach from a groundbreaking gun violence report released in 2023 to combine rigorous research, community action, and policy change to engage and support people who are involved in gangs and street economy.
Housing justice is a through line in the Center for Justice Innovation’s efforts to build safety and racial justice. In our new video, you’ll meet tenants, Center staff, and partners from the community and government working to prevent evictions, respond to tenant needs, and support access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.
In a new report, more than 100 young people in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, open up about why they carry guns. Their answer? Fear—for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. Hear from the people who made the study happen—Javonte Alexander, Basaime Spate, and Elise White—our community researchers with personal ties to the social networks of the young people who shared their experiences.
