For the Media

Students Walk Out Over Gun Violence That Is Close to Home

The New York Times

More than 100 students in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, took a bold stand against gun violence in their own communities by participating in a walkout to mark the beginning of Gun Violence Awareness Month. The walkout was planned with support from the Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School in collaboration with our Save Our Streets Brooklyn team, which works to prevent shootings and bring positive resources to young people at risk of getting involved in gun violence. Read more about the walkout, and the months of study and reflection that went into it, in the New York Times.

People With Serious Mental Illness Need Housing, Not Jail

Vital City

Who winds up on Rikers Island and why? What will it take to close the troubled jail complex? Those are some critical questions raised in Vital City’s special issue on New York City’s jails. In their contribution to the issue, our policy experts Daniel Ades and Virginia Barber Rioja make the case for investing in supportive housing, not jail, for people with serious mental illness—a desperately needed alternative that is cheaper, more humane, and safer for us all.

Turning the Gears of Justice: A Conversation with Chidinma Ume and Erin Pilnyak

Vital City

In Vital City’s special issue on New York City’s jails, Chidinma Ume, Senior Director of Community Justice at the Center, joins IntegrAssure’s Erin Pilnyak to share what it was like to be part of a citywide effort to reduce unnecessary case delays that leave people languishing in jail. Their conversation sheds light on how collaboration, data, and what Ume calls “a combination of patience and urgency” can help us safely reduce jail populations and ensure all people are treated with dignity as they navigate the legal system.

NYC’s youngest fatal shooting victim this year remembered with a call to action

Gothamist

Family members, friends, and neighbors gathered at a playground in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to remember Troy Gill, a 13-year-old boy who was lost to gun violence on February 29. As the community stood together in mourning, they also issued a call to action to mobilize against gun violence and prioritize the safety and well-being of all young people. “We're in a time where a lot of young people don't feel seen and or loved or heard,” said Anthony Rowe, director of our Neighbors in Action program in Crown Heights. “So our path forward is to invest in the youth.”

Red Hook NYCHA Tenants Waiting Months For Gas Want Answers

City Limits

Residents of New York City’s public housing system are routinely forced to live without kitchen gas, electricity, and heat, sometimes for days or weeks on end. With support from the Red Hook Community Justice Center, some tenants of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses are seeking compensation—and a new bill sponsored by Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes proposes to reduce tenant rent during utility outages.

Gov. Hochul adds millions for mental health treatment services

NY1

“We don’t want to see people locked up as the solution. We want them to get the help they need, get the stability, get the path toward a healthy life.” Governor Kathy Hochul visited our Midtown Community Justice Center to share exciting news of a $33 million investment into expanded mental health support for New Yorkers in the criminal legal system. On NY1, hear from the people working on the ground to link people who have been arrested to those life-changing services, including Mel Hodor from our Midtown Community Justice Center team.

New York announces $33 million for mental health services. Here’s how it will be used

CBS 2 New York

At our Midtown Community Justice Center, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced expanded investments in support for New Yorkers struggling with mental illness, including $33 million to better respond to people in the criminal legal system. The boost in funding will support more programs like ours. “I could be in jail rotting away, but I changed my life,” program graduate Ibrahim Ayu told CBS News. “I’ve really been on a trajectory of going up because of the Midtown Community Justice Center.”

2024 Spark Prize Honors Brooklyn’s Equity Champions

BKReader

Our Neighbors in Action program received Brooklyn Org’s prestigious annual Spark Prize, which recognizes five nonprofits each year working to build racial and social justice in Brooklyn. The five winners of the award were honored at this year’s Spark Breakfast at the Brooklyn Museum. “We want to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world,” said Brooklyn Org president and CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey. “Not just in style, but in equity and justice.”

Common Council to administer over $1.3 million in opioid relief, replace water mains

The Daily Orange

Our Westside Community First program is among four nonprofits in Syracuse, New York, set to receive funding from the Opioid Settlement Program, which will administer relief funds towards services for people impacted by the opioid crisis. Westside Community First sends street outreach teams into areas with high rates of drug use to connect people to overdose prevention kits, health supplies, and holistic, trust-based care.

Mental Health and Justice: The Manhattan Misdemeanor Mental Health Court

PLI PLUS

Far too many people struggling with a mental illness lack the support they need, leading to a host of challenges – from housing insecurity to unemployment – that often drive contact with the justice system. For more than 25 years, the Center has helped build court programs where people with mental health needs can find care and support. This article for the Practising Law Institute profiles the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court we help operate in Manhattan, which provides supportive responses for people with mental illness facing low-level charges.

A Dallas bookstore owner wanted to engage inmates in reading. A national book prize was the result

KERA News

The Inside Literary Prize began when Lori Feathers, co-owner of Interabang Books in Dallas, floated the idea to a friend at the Center for Justice Innovation after reading an article about a similar award in France. With support from the Center, Freedom Reads, and the National Book Foundation, 300 incarcerated people will read and discuss each book before leaving their mark on the national conversation by deciding on a winner. The award is a much-needed acknowledgement, Feathers notes, that “people in prisons…are part of our humanity.”

Midtown Community Court evolves into Midtown Community Justice Center

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Our very first program, the Midtown Community Court, now has a new name: the Midtown Community Justice Center. In its 30 years of innovation, the program has taken an increasingly holistic approach to justice, connecting people to a range of vital services not only within the legal system but outside of it as well. As Chief Judge Rowan Wilson said at the program’s 30th anniversary celebration, the Midtown Community Justice Center is a “lifeline for the New Yorkers it serves and for the communities from which they come.”

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