Friday, December 23, 2016
Monday, December 19, 2016
Newark Community Solutions
2016 Holiday Gift Drive
On a cold and snowy Saturday the feeling was warm and cheery at
the Newark Community Solutions Sixth Annual Holiday Gift Drive "Wrap
Party." This year our drive supported the Angel Tree Network, a program that facilitates holiday season gift
donations to children with at least one incarcerated parent, as well as the Newark YMCA and New Hope Baptist Church. Gifts were donated by
Newark City employees as well as local organizations including the GI Go Fund,
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., and Sigma Phi Rho Fraternity Inc. Despite the
weather, volunteers made it to Newark City Hall to wrap and package gifts, and Newark
Youth Court members invited all kids in attendance to their arts and crafts
station where there made festive ornaments including the famous candy cane
reindeer!
Special Thanks to Mallery Rosado
from StyleSnaps
PhotoBooth LLC for providing free holidays pics to all families in attendance and thanks again to all our wonderful volunteers!
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
From the desk of Colleen
Smith
NCS Clinical Coordinator
Moments
Over a
year ago, NCS was approached by a playwright, Jeremy Kamps, who made us a
remarkable offer. He wanted to
facilitate a writing workshop for participants during which he would guide the
group to write short plays about their own lives. The workshop would culminate
in a live performance of the plays by professional actors in a local theatrical
space. After months of planning the
workshop got underway earlier this year with five residents of Newark’s
Integrity House. Then on Monday 12/12 at
Newark’s Clement’s Place the group’s hard work payed off with a brilliant performance
titled, Moments: A Festival of Ten Minute Plays.
The
performance included five plays brought to live by incredibly talented
professional actors who all donated their time to the casue. Each play drew from the lived experiences of
the writers, tackling difficult topics while maintaining moments of levity and
humor. But perhaps the greatest moment of the evening came at the end,
when each writer spoke about his experience in the workshop. They spoke
of seeing their work played out in front of them, the challenges of writing
about life events, and the power of telling their stories.
As
Jeremy said, “art brings communities together” and I am so grateful that we
were all able to come together that evening. I’d like to send a big thank
you to the staff at Clement’s Place for hosting us in their beautiful space,
Jeremy Kamps for facilitating the workshop and donating his time, the actors
for bringing the plays to life, and most importantly, to our writers for
sharing their stories with us.
Bravo!
Thursday, November 24, 2016
The Spirit of Giving
On the eve of Thanksgiving, Newark Community
Solutions along with the Newark Youth Court staff and members prepared and
packed food for the 2016 “Share the Harvest” event hosted by PACTION Newark at the Clinton Memorial AMEZ Church.
PACTION Newark is a consortium formed in fall of 2015 to facilitate
collaboration and sharing between NGOs, faith based organizations
and community organizers with the goal of serving the homeless, local
youth and other vulnerable residents of Newark and the Greater Newark area. The
two day event brought in volunteers from organizations and businesses all
determined to help provide warm meals for the holiday. Last year PACTION Newark
served and delivered 3,541 meals to the community and we hoped to surpass that
this year!
Newark
Community Solutions and Newark Youth Court are so proud to take part in an
event that truly embodies the spirit of the season.
From
our family to yours – HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Art through Social Consciousness:
Visions of Community Justice
Last
Friday Newark Community Solutions and the Newark Municipal Court collaborated
on one of the coolest events I have been a part of since I started working with
the program. But first a little background - several months ago with the
blessing of Chief Judge Pratt and the Mayor Baraka, NCS applied to have the Newark
Municipal Courthouse be a part of the Newark Art’s Council’s Open Doors City
Arts Festival. Once the application was accepted, a joint NCS –
Municipal Court Arts committee was formed to undertake the task of turning a
portion of the courthouse into a gallery that would be open to the public over
a three day “Arts Crawl.” The committee came up with the theme of Art through
Social Consciousness: Visions of Community Justice and put out an open call to
local artists. In addition to art submitted by the community and local professional
artists, some in-house talent got a chance to shine. As someone with
zero ability in this area I was blown away!
Then
finally on the evening of Friday 10/21 the Newark Municipal Court gallery
opened its doors! Guests were greeted with event information (and
sparkling cider) by Newark Youth Court members and then made their way down the
first floor corridor now covered with paintings, collages, drawing and
photography. A highlight of the evening for me was meeting Vincent
A. Johnson Jr. Vincent is 14 years old
and submitted beautiful pictures he took in Newark's Branch Brook Park.
It was inspiring to hear him talk about how he got started and I’m so
glad this event gave him the opportunity to share his art with the public.
Pictures (including Vincent’s work) are below but they don't do the art
justice (pun intended) so please come down to the Newark Municipal Court to see
for yourself!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Community Service in
Action
At the Down Bottom Farm, located at 371-395 Ferry Street in Newark’s east ward, Newark Community Solutions participants assisted the Farmer's Market Coordinator, Alexis Trujillo, and her staff with a number of tasks to prepare the farm for an upcoming Halloween event.
Supervised by NCS Community Service Site Supervisor Trevor Powell, participants cleaned the farm free of all trash then picked green and red peppers, habanero peppers, squash, and eggplants. Any veggies past their prime were tossed into the compost bins to eventually become fertilizer for the raised flower beds.
In addition to prep work and picking vegetables, NCS participants placed pumpkins all throughout the large flower bed at the rear of the farm, made wooden scarecrows, and hung corn stalks on the raised flower bed posts inside the garden and along the perimeter. By the end of the day the farm looked great and was ready for the event. Take a look at some prep pics as well as pictures from the event.
Monday, October 10, 2016
GI Go Fund 2016 Northern New Jersey Stand Down for Homeless Veterans
Newark Community Solutions was proud to once again participant in this annual event providing support and services to local veterans including flu shots, HIV testing, benefits assistance, employment programs, legal services, clothing donations and evens haircuts on site! As always NCS spoke with veterans in attendance about clearing up open municipal matters in Newark as well as other court based social services.
Below is a link with more details about the event and some photos from the day.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13759718.htm
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Thursday, September 15, 2016
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Newark
Youth Court Joins Forces with Newark Youth Ambassadors to Illustrate Unity
Thursday, August 11, 2016
The Newark Municipal Council Chambers was the
warmest place to be last night and not because of the heat wave. The Newark Youth Court and the Mayor’s Newark
Youth Ambassadors joined forces to help the Newark African Commission honor renowned
sociologist Dr. LaFrancis Roger-Rose at their “Unity Forum” event. There were
several dignitaries in attendance, including Council President Mildred C. Crump
and Kate Ihuoma –Igbodike, Consul
to the Consulate General of Nigeria in New York.
Zoe Nicole Copeland and
Genique Turner of the Newark Youth Court and Diamond Golson of the Newark Youth
Ambassadors read a poem together titled Prayer
to Masks by celebrated Senegalese statesman and poet Leopold Sédar Senghor. They were warmly greeted by cheers
from the audience who showed their delight by applauding at several points
during the reading. The Forum also featured a panel discussion on cultural
identity titled Are We All Africans? NCS Program Coordinator, Wynnie-Fred Victor
Hinds, also a member of the Newark African Commission, helped coordinate the
event and was joined by Newark Youth Court Case Developer Basimah Caldwell. NCS Re-Entry Case Manager, Latania Cobb and Alternative
Sanctions intern Nicauris Hernandez, provided moral support with cheers from
the audience. All in all, the whole process
was an inspiring illustration of the positive impact of effective collaboration
and teamwork.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
from the Director's desk:
NADCP Conference in Anaheim, CA
The 2016 National Association of Drug Court Professionals
Conference brought together more than 5,000 treatment court professionals from
across the United States to discuss addiction, mental health, recovery and
criminal justice reform. This year I was
honored to moderate a panel titled, Meeting the Need: Innovative Methods for Working with
Court Involved Mental Health Consumers. The panel featured Newark Municipal Court Chief Judge
Victoria Pratt and the Hon. Judge Verna Leath from the Essex County Superior Court, Criminal Division. As both Judges preside over alternative
sentencing programs, Newark Community Solutions at the municipal level and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Mental Health
Diversion Program at the superior court level, they are uniquely positioned to
impact this vulnerable and often underserved population. Highlights of the discussion included the
importance of clear communication with both court staff and participants,
setting realistic goals and expectations and the value of a positive courtroom
culture with the tone set from the bench.
Thank you to Judge Pratt and Judge Leath for the amazing work you do and for sharing your wisdom with the conference crowd. It was a wonderful experience and a truly inspiring event.
KMB
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
Newark Community Solutions
Community Advisory Board
Spring Meeting
Newark Community Solutions held its first Advisory Board meeting of the year at the Newark Municipal Court on Thursday, April 21. Community members, social service providers, educators, law enforcement, court staff, and legal partners attended the meeting. Municipal Court Director James Simpson welcomed the attendees and Chief Judge Victoria F. Pratt followed with opening remarks. Project Director Kelly Mulligan-Brown kicked off the meeting by providing newcomers with an overview of Newark Community Solutions and highlighted the importance of the program’s partnerships with the Newark Municipal Court and City of Newark. Newark Community Solutions staff then presented on their work with the Community Court, Newark Youth Court, and Newark United Against Violence.
Stay tuned for details for the next meeting at the and of the summer!
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Community Justice 2016 International Summit
The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the
U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance,
hosted the Community Justice 2016 International Summit in Chicago from April 13
to April 15, 2016.
The conference convened an international audience of
practitioners and researchers, who explored some of today's most pressing
issues and promising ideas in criminal justice reform. Topics included
community engagement, jail reduction, risk/needs assessments,
substance use and mental disorders, procedural justice and legitimacy,
restorative justice, and young adult justice.
Newark was well represented by
Municipal Court Chief Judge Victoria Pratt who kicked off day two of the
conference with an engaging presentation detailing the importance of procedural
justice, the idea that how defendants feel about the justice system
is tied more to their perception of fairness about the process and how they
were treated rather than the outcome of their case. Judge
Pratt emphasized how this "simple idea" can revolutionize the way the
judicial system relates to the public it serves by employing basic principles of
dignity and respect. Later in the day, NCS
Project Director Kelly Mulligan-Brown moderated a panel titled, Activating Public Space:
Creative Approaches to Community Service. The panel highlighted creative
community service programming in Dallas, TX, Hartford, CT and Brownsville, NY.
For more information, including a
full conference agenda and more event photos, please see the CCI event page:
http://www.courtinnovation.org/center-court-innovation-hosts-community-justice-2016
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