The Bronx Community Justice Center works to create a safer, more equitable Bronx through community-driven public safety initiatives, youth opportunity, and economic mobility efforts focused in the South Bronx.
Key elements of the Bronx Community Justice Center include:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Insight Initiatives is a diversion and alternative to incarceration program for youth and young adults ages 13-24. The program is specifically designed to engage youth who have been impacted by violence and/or gang involvement. Using a transformative, healing-centered model, Insight Initiative allows youth to take accountability for their actions, contribute to their communities and address root causes to prevent future justice involvement. Many youth have also experienced harm and trauma. Insight offers support so that youth have an opportunity for healing.
Juvenile Justice Programs
Juvenile Justice programs provide mentorship and restorative programming at juvenile secure and non-secure detention sites, as well as support for youth as they transition home.
Placekeeping
Placekeeping initiatives create places that are welcoming, maneuverable, familiar, and conducive to economic development and social interaction to increase safety. Placekeeping engages community residents—those who are closest to the issue—to define the goals and the tools for change. These initiatives also create avenues for youth and community members to impact their neighborhood by conceiving, designing, and implementing changes to public spaces to address the underlying causes of violence such as disinvestment and marginalization.
Save Our Streets South Bronx
Save Our Streets South Bronx is a gun violence prevention program that aims to reduce and prevent shootings through the use of public health strategies. Credible messengers engage those who have been most impacted by violence using multiple strategies including street outreach, conflict de-escalation by trained violence interrupters, mentoring, community organizing around gun violence prevention, and leadership opportunities for impacted youth. When violence does occur, S.O.S. responds by providing opportunities for communal response and healing.
School Programs
School-based restorative programs provide violence intervention and prevention services, restorative programming, and mentorship in Bronx middle and high schools.
Youth Anti-Violence Work
LeadershipWorks engages young people who have been marginalized and impacted by community violence as leaders in creating community change. Programming includes mentoring, leadership development, and neighborhood planning projects.
Youth Entrepreneurship
The Youth Entrepreneurship program provides participants with hands-on, project-based training to develop and launch a business. Participants gain skills to develop their side hustles into entrepreneurial ventures while also creating collective projects focused on community safety and healing.