Bringing in the New Year!

The month of January has been very busy for the Justice Center!

We recently inducted and swore-in thirteen new AmeriCorps members for the Red Hook Community Resilience Corps program. Honorable Judge Calabrese spoke a few words and welcomed the new cohort to the Justice Center. They will be working within the various departments in the building and also assisting in creating community events. Stay tuned to see their work throughout the year!

Also, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. AmeriCorps members, youth court members, Good Shepherds Services, staff from the JC, youth and members of the community all joined together for a day of service. The day consisted of a screening of "My Friend Martin" which is a short film about Martin Luther King, his legacy and overall mission during the civil rights movement.

Followed by the screening, Leslie (AmeriCorps Program Coordinator) and members led a discussion of what the kids learned from the video. Shortly after we all participated in face painting and an arts and crafts session where everyone made signs and colored peace and doves signs in preparation for our march.

Immediately following, we all gathered together and walked through the community in a Peace March with Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech playing in the background. At the forefront of the march was a beautifully hand-painted banner created by the Alice Tapia and leading the charge with chants like "No Justice, No Peace" and "The people, united, will never be defeated" was the Justice Center's very own Ross Joy.

The day was fun, educational and inspirational. We would like to thank you to Leslie, all our members and Good Shepherds Services staff for their hard work in organizing this successful event!

#GOREDHOOK

Comments

Hasta Luego Benny!

...we'd rather say until later than good-bye. We just learned that one of our amazing court officers, Lt. Benny Castillo, is being transferred to another court. Lt. Castillo has worked at the Justice Center for 5 years. He was always a great leader, and always went beyond the call of duty to lend a helping to staff and residents. The Justice Center is also gearing up to send off Lt. Bobby Vitucci (more on that to come). You can read the article below to see what makes our court officers so special and important to the Justice Center.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121220/red-hook/red-hook-court-officers-dole-out-hundreds-of-toys-kids

Lt. Benny Castillo
Judge Calabrese thanks Lt. Castillo for his service

Thank You AmeriCorps Members

Last Friday we held a graduation for our AmeriCorps members, the last class of the New York Juvenile Justice Corps. Over the past year, the members have served throughout the Center for Court Innovation's New York City projects at various positions within our courts and community programs. They served as a bridge to the communities we work in, and provided valuable support to our projects and various initiatives. The members will be missed and we wish them the best in all their future endeavors.

Jessica Colon
Deputy Project Director

Standing Room Only at the Graduation
Declan Walsh, Director of the John Jay College Office of Community Outreach, presents Al Siegal and Jessica Colon with a plaque in recognition of the Center for Court Innovation's partnership with the college.
Members from the Brownsville Community Justice Center Receive their Certificates
Members from the Crown Heights Mediation Center Receive their Certificates
Staff and Members from the Harlem Community Justice Cen…

Red Hook CARES: Community Free Store

On September 8th, Women in Touch, Red Hook CARES (Counseling and Restorative Services), and the Justice Center’s Americorps members joined together to host a community free store in Coffey Park. The Women in Touch office on Richards Street is getting a revamp and our first step was clearing out the clothing and items to make way for the new!

Women in Touch has been a long time resource and space for the community of Red Hook and the CARES team is super excited to join them in this project. However; CARES and WIT couldn’t have done it without the help of the Americorps members, who spent all day clearing out the Richards Street apartment and organizing items to give away in the free store.

Community members dropped in throughout the day to shop, enjoy some lemonade, and chat about what’s to come in the new space. The Women in Touch office on 135 Richards Street will continue to be a safe, community space. We are re-decorating and furnishing the space to make way for community events, su…

Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

Search This Blog