Apply to be an AmeriCorps Member at the Red Hook Community Justice Center

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is looking for volunteers to serve in its AmeriCorps program, the New York Juvenile Justice Corps. The Corps places members in the Red Hook Community Justice Center to assist with youth and community programs, housing assistance, clinical case management, alternative sanctions and GED instruction. Throughout the year, Corps members participate in meaningful service projects to have a visible impact in the community as well as monthly trainings to support their professional development.

TO APPLY, PLEASE CLICK ON THE POSITION YOU ARE INTERESTED IN AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH DESCRIPTION BELOW:

Red Hook Youth Court Case Developer

Youth Organizing Programs Assistant

Just Arts Programs Assistant

Criminal Court Clinical Case Manager

Youth Clinical Services Case Manager

Housing and Information Resource Center Assistant

GED Teaching Associate

What are the Benefits?

• Educational grant award of $5,550 which can be used toward tuition or student loans
• Living stipend of $12,100
• Basic health coverage
• Childcare reimbursement
• On the job and supplemental job training
• Professional development and networking opportunities
• 85% of Corps graduates go on to a full-time job or college!

What are the Qualifications?

• Commit to serve for 1 year from October 1^st 2011 – September 30^th 2012
• Serve a minimum of 35 hours per week (for a total of 1,700 hours in 1 year)  
• Participate in monthly trainings and service projects with the Corps including some weekend and evening obligations
• High school diploma or GED
• Must be at least 18 years old by October 1^st 2011
• An interest in public service, youth development, law and community service
• United States citizen or legal permanent resident with a green card
• Bi-lingual skills a plus

Apply to be a Corps member!

What is the Juvenile Justice Corps?

The New York Juvenile Justice Corps is an AmeriCorps national service program and project of the Center for Court Innovation. The Juvenile Justice Corps places Corps members at full-time, year-long job placements in courthouses, detention centers, schools and community centers throughout New York City. Corps Members provide wraparound interventions and positive programming to divert young people out of the justice system and break the cycle of unmet needs and delinquent behavior. Throughout the year, Corps members participate in meaningful service projects to have a visible impact in the community as well as monthly trainings to support their professional development.

What are the benefits?

• Educational grant award of $5,550 which can be used toward tuition or student loans
• Living stipend of $12,100
• Basic health coverage
• Childcare reimbursement
• On the job and supplemental job training
• Professional development and networking opportunities
• 85% of Corps graduates go on to a full-time job or college!

What are the Requirements?

• Commit to serve for 1 year from October 1^st 2011 – September 30^th 2012
• Serve a minimum of 35 hours per week (for a total of 1,700 hours in 1 year)  
• Participate in monthly trainings and service projects with the Corps including some weekend and evening obligations
• High school diploma or GED
• Must be at least 18 years old by October 1^st 2011
• An interest in public service, youth development, law and community service
• United States citizen or legal permanent resident with a green card
• Bi-lingual skills a plus

How do I apply?

Please review positions available online at www.courtinnovation.org/employment and submit a resume and cover letter to the hiring manager. The deadline to apply is September 1^st, 2011.

Brownsville Community Survey in the Daily News

In October 2010, the Juvenile Justice Corps hit the streets of Brownsville as part of a week-long community service project called "Operation Data". Operation Data is a community survey aimed at eliciting perceptions about the quality of life, crime, and opportunities in the neighborhood. The New York Daily News recently ran a story about the survey at in anticipation of the release of the findings. The article, “Terror in Brownsville: Survey finds Brooklyn neighborhood grappling with 'serious issues,' like guns” can be found at, http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/05/31/2011-05-31_terror_in_brownsville_survey_finds_nabe_grappling_with_serious_issues_like_guns.html. The survey in  concentrated on issues faced by young people such as gangs, drugs, violence and employment, and will inform the creation of a Youth Justice Center in the neighborhood. Corps members conducted interviews in barber shops, soup kitchens and bus stops and even walked alongside hurried residents on their way to work. The survey took less 10 minutes to complete, but many Brownsville residents spent far longer talking with the Corps members, choosing to miss their bus or delay their plans to share their hopes and concerns about their neighborhood. Word got around about their efforts and by the end of the first day; residents were literally lining up to be surveyed. Planners of the new Youth Justice Center were hoping to collect 500 surveys and Corps members blew that goal out of the water, conducting over 800 surveys! Corps members were blown away by the community's openness and interest in the survey project and are looking forward to seeing how the findings will be used to make real change for young people in Brownsville.

 Corps Members conduct surveys in Brownsville

Red Hook Youth Baseball

On April 16th, 2011 the Red Hook Youth Baseball League entered its 14th Season with Opening Day ceremonies at the ballfields. The League is a unique collaboration between the criminal justice system and community members made possible through the service of the New York Juvenile Justice Corps. Corps members have a hand in every aspect of the league from recruitment and fundraising to coaching the younger divisions. The League brings together local justice system employees, business owners, and residents as coaches and team sponsors. AmeriCorps has had a presence in the League since its inception. In 1996, the League was founded by an AmeriCorps member and resident of Red Hook as an effort to create recreational activities for young people and take advantage of underutilized baseball diamonds in the neighborhood. Today, more than 150 boys and girls, dozens of community volunteers and parents fill the diamonds every Saturday. Thanks to generous donations, the League is able to offer the opportunity to play free of charge to participants. Fees charged by other leagues in Brooklyn are often prohibitive to families. True to the AmeriCorps spirit, Red Hook baseball is about more than balls, strikes and outs; everyone involved works to instill in the young ballplayers the highest standards of sportsmanship, leadership and respect.

Corps member coaches a young ballplayer.



Summer Reading Initiative in Red Hook

On Friday, May 20th the New York Juvenile Justice Corps hosted a book fair in Coffey Park in Red Hook to encourage summer reading amongst kids and teens. The event was an effort to prevent the "Summer Slide" which happens when young people go all summer without opening a book and results in teachers spending up to 2 months every fall reviewing lessons from the previous school year. Research shows that students who don't read over the summer enter the school year behind their peers and are more likely to drop out. Corps members organized the book give-away because the best predictor of whether a student will read over the summer is whether they have access to books. The event was the culmination of a book drive which collected over 1,000 books for children and young adults. Corps members did outreach to local schools, community centers and after-school programs to draw young people the the event. Corps members gave out hundreds of books and a representative from the Red Hook Public Library signed up young people for library cards and the summer reading program.

Corps members helped children find good books for the summer.

AIDS Walk New York

Early morning showers and thunder did not stop the New York Juvenile Justice Corps from joining 40,000 other New Yorkers on Sunday, May 15th to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and raise funds to end the epidemic. The walk is the largest AIDS fundraising event in the world and supports organizations throughout the tri-state area which provide care and advocacy for men and women living with HIV. Corps members joined forces with the Greenpoint and Brownsville Youth Courts, friends, and family members for the 10K walk through Central Park and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The team proudly contributed over $1,500 toward the cause though generous donations from friends, family members, colleagues, and several wildly successful Greenpoint Youth Court bake sales. In the months leading up to the walk, several Corps members worked behind the scenes at the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) headquarters to prepare for the day - phonebanking, recruiting volunteers, and coordinating day-of logistics. 



Corps members approach the start line.

The Juvenile Justice Corps team brought together first-time walkers with Corps members who have walked for years in honor of loved ones lost.

We did it!