New Rochelle Community Justice Center

The New Rochelle City Court runs the Opportunity Youth Part: a specialized court calendar for emerging adults (ages 16 to 24) facing misdemeanor or felony charges who are unemployed or underemployed, not in school, and generally disconnected from positive services.  Using a community-centric approach to resolving cases,  the program provides young adults with age-appropriate alternatives to incarceration through connection to community resources and a network of positive relationships, incorporating restorative justice and procedural fairness practices to support the participants’ success. This program launched in October 2020, in partnership with the Center for Justice Innovation.

Youth Justice and Equity Team (YJET) convenes key New Rochelle stakeholders to develop an ambitious initiative to address the needs of youth at risk of criminal legal involvement in grades 6 to 12 (ages 10 to 17).

With the aim of reducing youth involvement in the criminal and family legal systems, this group will identify opportunities for positive intervention and empower vulnerable youth through increased education, training, and community support. By fostering collaboration between various community stakeholders, the Youth Justice and Equity Team aims to create a brighter future for the youth of New Rochelle. Potential initiatives include early intervention and enrichment, programming for middle school youth, parent support programs, high school mentorship, trauma-informed and healing-centered counseling, restorative justice interventions, and training and capacity building for community partners.

In New Rochelle, community violence prevention, mentorship, behavioral health, and economic mobility, like non-traditional workforce development, are key steps to reducing community violence overall. The team in New Rochelle connects young people to education and employment opportunities, engages people who have recently immigrated, and accepts referrals from criminal legal agencies.

Informed by the Cure Violence model of gun violence prevention, a team of credible messengers provides street outreach, violence interruption, mediation, mentorship, and community norm change interventions, all focused on New Rochelle neighborhoods and blocks with the highest rates of violence, arrests, and crime.

A gun diversion program addresses the underlying issues that drive youth to carry guns and supports behavioral change.

In transformative group and individual sessions, credible messengers connect with and provide support for at-risk youth to set them up for safer, healthier lives and reduce the likelihood of involvement with violence and the criminal justice system.

Youth-led placemaking internships engage emerging adults to participate in neighborhood safety efforts, and provide paid skill-building opportunities for young people. The Community Youth Violence Intervention Initiative will take a youth-led, project-based approach informed by Crime Prevention through Environmental Design strategies to engage participants in identifying community challenges and implementing creative solutions.