Jackie Soto & Stephanie Lovett |
In
response, we generally talk a lot about the stuff we do outside of the formal
court process, e.g., the Red Hook Youth Court, arts programming, the baseball
league, and a broad range of community improvement projects. In other words, when it comes to community
engagement, we are quick to remind visitors that we are more than just a
courthouse. Too quick.
Jackie
Soto and Stephanie Lovett have run the Justice Center's Alternative
Sanctions Office (more commonly known as "intake") for over 10
years. Among many, many other things,
intake is the first stop for anyone sentenced to community, social, or clinical
services as an alternative to incarceration.
And in a bustling community court like ours, that's a whole lot of
folks.
Technically,
Jackie and Stephanie screen individuals to determine appropriate services,
schedule them for obligations, rigorously monitor their compliance, and work
closely with the Justice Center's court partners to ensure the swift and fair
administration of justice. But circling
back to this idea of community engagement, I want to focus less on what they do... and more on how they do it.
Heart. If I had to sum it up in one word, I think
that’s the one I would choose. In a
fast-paced department that demands constant attention to detail and court
process, Jackie and Stephanie never lose sight of why the Justice Center is
here in the first place: to serve the
community with care, respect, and dignity.
Somehow they manage to do it with every single person who walks through
the door, every single day, despite the relentless demands and pressures of the
moment. Spend an hour or a day in
intake, and you will see two professionals who take the time to engage, to
listen, and to do what they can to provide meaningful assistance in the lives
of folks in crisis. And they do it in a
way that is so genuine, so natural, at times even self-effacing, that it often
goes undetected – except where it matters most:
in the lives of the countless individuals they have collectively served.
Now that’s
what I call community engagement.
If I was
a sports guy (which after years of denial and posing, I can now admit to the
world, I am not), I would probably compare Jackie and Stephanie to some
athlete(s) who make something difficult look easy, etc. But that sort of analogy doesn’t quite
capture it, even if I had the knowledge and credibility to pull it off, which I
don’t. No, as much as Jackie and
Stephanie have mastered their craft and do their jobs with an effortless grace,
that’s not the quality that sets them apart.
I think it comes down to a deep-felt care and commitment to the
residents of Red Hook. I think it comes
down to heart.
Hope
this finds you well,
Julian
My exact sentiments. It's the buzz all over the Red Hook community. Jackie and Stephanie are the same way even when they are not at work. It was a long time coming. Yay for the Red Hook Champions!
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