Using Partnerships to Create Meaningful Community Service Opportunities for Youth

Last week’s spring recess from school filled the Justice Center with kids doing community service through our Adolescent Diversion Pilot (ADP) program. On Thursday, April 12^th, Red Hook’s Community Service team partnered with the Department of Transportation for a special community service project to prime and paint 600 feet of wall space on the bike path leading up to the Manhattan Bridge.

Bike path before ADP youth community service work

Many of the teens began the day reluctant to take time out of their vacation to tackle such a large and daunting task, but after encouragement and motivational one-on-one talks from staff, they began to encourage each other to complete the project. As the day progressed, youth shared their experiences with each other and discussed lessons they have learned from their contact with the criminal justice system. By the end of the day, youth were able to go home proud of completing a meaningful project on a highly visible and utilized bike path, as an important step towards having their cases dismissed and avoiding a criminal record.

Youth working together to paint the Manhattan Bridge bike path

Special thanks to Red Hook's Alternative Sanctions Department for coordinating their very first ADP youth community service project with the Department of Transportation, and to Nelson Rivera and Ronnell Jack, Red Hook’s community service supervisors, for a great job encouraging and motivating our ADP youth this week.

Finished bike path

Comments

Supporting the Staten Island Youth Justice Center at "Inside/Outside Legislative Theatre" Performance

On June 4th, a group of the Red Hook Youth Court members and staff went to see the "Theater of the Oppressed NYC" performance at the New School. Before attending this event, the youth court members had no idea that anything like this went on! While there, we learned that 12 different legislative laws were changed through something called "Legislative Theatre." The audience members get to be "spect-actors," which is great because the actual audience members got to participate in the play themselves and share their ideas. The performances last night were put on by members of the Staten Island Youth Justice Center (part of the Center for Court Innovation Family). These two plays dealt with real life issues such as getting stopped for not paying your bus fare, arriving late to school and getting sent to the principal's office because of the "zero tolerance policy," getting into fights at school, not knowing one's rights, and being raciall

Peacemaking in Red Hook

Raymond Deal, Traditional Program Specialist, Shiprock District Court, Navajo Nation and Gloria Benally, Program Coordinator, Navajo Nation, train future Red Hook Peacemakers After an intensely trying period in Red Hook in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, building, strenghtening, and healing relationships between residents and organizations has become crucial. This past weekend, we took a step towards preparing the neighborhood for the hard work ahead with a two-day workshop with peacemakers from the Navajo Nation for residents we are training to serve as peacemakers here in Red Hook. A new project from the Center for Court Innovation's Tribal Justice Exchange , peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice. While the exact form peacemaking takes varies among tribes, it usually consists of one or more peacemakers—often community elders—who gently guide a conversation involving not only those directly involved in an offense or conflict but family

Rent, Repairs, and Rights: A Guide to Housing Court for NYCHA Tenants

Lillian Marshall, Tenant Association President of Red Hook West (left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Dorothy Shields, Tenant Association President of Red Hook East (Left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Hon. Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge of the Red Hook Community Justice Center Graphic Designer Jenny Kutnow Clara Amenyo from the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)

Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

Search This Blog