Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

Earlier this month AmeriCorps, Peacemaking, Youth Programs and Women in Touch joined together to Celebrate Black History Month ! We held a fundraiser auctioning off photography from past JustArts: Photography classes and special art pieces created by AmeriCorps members, Peacemaking participants and Alice Tapia. We also had a dance performance from two of our very own Youth Court members. Special thank you to everyone who made food and art donations. Lastly, thank you Sequoia from our AmeriCorps program for leading the charge and all of the AmeriCorps members and staff who stood late to clean up! #GOREDHOOK

This week the Youth and Community Programs department here at the Red Hook Community Justice Center were fortunate enough to put together and host their 3rd installment in their Bridging the Gap Series: Youth, Community and Police titled  GAME NIGHT ! We had over 100 participants in attendance in just two hours, including more than 25 officers present from various local precincts (PSA 1, 76 th , 72 nd and PSA 9). With crowd favorite games such as a Birthday Line Up, Family Feud and Pictionary games just to name a few and ending the night with a “Juju on that Beat” dance off we were able to host a successful and fun-filled event! We understand that teambuilding is crucial in strengthening relationships, and our main goal is to also allow local youth and community members to partner up with officers. Many of our young people have expressed wanting to connect with officers but just did not know where to start.  The purpose of our series is...

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 ...

This week the office of Youth and Community Programs held their Fall   Graduation and Induction Ceremony . The current cohort of Red Hook Youth Court members were recognized for all of their work within this past year. While a few of them will continue serving on the court, others will be moving onto other programs and begin preparing for college. Twelve brand new trainees were officially inducted after successfully completing training for the past eight weeks.   There was a full house, with Justice Center staff, family members, friends and officers from the 72 nd , 76 th and PSA1 precinct who came out to show some support. Selena Rodriguez, a Youth Court alumni also came to speak to everyone about her experience as a member and offer advice to the new trainees. Special guest included Judge Calabrese and  Karen Broughton from Assemblyman Felix w. Ortiz Office. Congratulations to our members, we are looking forward to the New Year! #GOREDHOOK  Ju...

 As an addition to our long running internship fair, and community need for employment and educational services the Office of Youth and Community programs hosted our first annual College & Career Fair!  On Thursday, October 27th at the Miccio Community Center we opened our doors to young adults and community members from Red Hook and other parts of Brooklyn in hopes of providing them accessto educational resources, job readiness resources, career advancements and access to employment opportunities.            We partnered up with over 30 local colleges, youth development programs and businesses! They all came out to help spread information to the public. Some organizations and businesses included, Starbucks, Bottom Line, YearUp and U.S Army Recruiting Center. Colleges included York College, St. Francis College, Franklin Career Institute, St. Joseph's College and Borough of Man...

                                        The Red Hook Community Resilience Corps will be having a second year!                   *We are currently accepting applications for all positions* The Red Hook Community Resilience Corps is an AmeriCorps National Service Program that seeks to make Red Hook a safer, stronger and more resilient community. Corps members will be part of our unconventional programs and services throughout the Justice Center that engage local residents, promote public safety and solve local problems such as Housing Resource Center, Peacemaking, Alternatives to Incarceration, Youth and Community Programs, High School Equivalency classroom and Neighborhood Restitution Crew. In addition,...

This week the Office of Youth and Community held our 2 nd  event of our Series titled “Bridging the Gap: Youth, Community and Police” The objective of the event was to educate our youth and community members on how to rebuild and improve relationships with police, and allow them a safe space to interact with and get to know one another on a person level. With many of the unfortunate current events involving police happening this follow up event came at a great time to have these hard discussions. The room was filled with over 15 officers who came ready and eager to interact with everyone from our local precincts (72, 76 and PSA1) . Staff and Students from Summit Academy, South Brooklyn Community High School, Youth Court members, staff and participants from the Miccio Community Center, Parents, NYPD Youth Explorers, Justice Center staff, Americorps members, Peacemakers and a few of our DA’s were all in attendance. L ike our last event using a circle process, eve...