Community Justice News Archive

Municipal courts too often create cycles of harm that can get people entangled in the justice system, but they also have the potential to deliver justice in ways that respond to communities’ needs.

Chicago-based organization Cure Violence laid the foundation of what we know today as “violence interruption” work, where peers use their lived experience to settle interpersonal conflicts before they result in gun violence. Our Save Our Streets team shares with WTTW Chicago how we expanded the approach in New York to address broader community needs—like education and job opportunities—while decreasing violence in neighborhoods. Learn more about the community justice solutions that have grown from Cure Violence, and hear from Rahson Johnson and Anthony Rowe from our Neighbors in Action team, in this article by WTTV News.

Our Community Justice Connect team trains local volunteers to help their neighbors resolve legal issues before they get out of hand.

Fines and fees add to the burden on people navigating the justice system, making it harder to get back on their feet. There’s a better path to safety.

After years of struggling with a cycle of mental health crises and criminal justice involvement, Ibrahim Ayu—a community activist, attorney, and author—graduated from our Manhattan Misdemeanor Mental Health Court program with a stable job, supportive housing, and robust mental health care. Mental health courts provide a pathway out of the justice system while addressing the underlying needs that brought people into it. In this op-ed for City Limits, Ayu shares his story and makes a case for expanding these vital programs across New York. “Far more people should be getting the genuine care and treatment that I got,” he writes.

Community Justice Centers offer an innovative model for how we can “invest in institutions and spaces that reanimate community life.”

Amid growing concerns about the decline in civic engagement, institutions and spaces that revitalize community and make room for collective problem-solving are more important than ever. A powerful example, writes Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, can be seen in community justice centers across New York, operated by the Center for Justice Innovation in partnership with the Unified Court System. In this piece for the New York Law Journal, Judge Wilson looks at the history and future of this innovative model, which brings courts and communities together to address neighborhood challenges and improve well-being for residents inside and outside the justice system.

Take a look at what Community Justice achieved in 2024.

Staten Island’s first-ever community justice center is set to open on the grounds of a former courthouse, bringing an innovative model that the Center for Justice Innovation has implemented across the city to a new borough. Each community justice center reflects the unique needs of the community. The new justice center in Staten Island would provide services and positive activities for youth, people involved in the justice system, and the borough as a whole. Senior Director of Court Reform Kelly Mulligan shares details on what’s in store at the upcoming community justice center.

Look back at some creative new initiatives, fresh perspectives on justice policy, and milestones in Community Justice from our teams across the Center.