NYC Justice Corps
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- Who We Are
Investing for Effectiveness
- Corps Highlights
- History
- Project Partners
- Investing for Effectiveness
- Funding Sources
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Phyllis Hurd Director of Community Relations, Bridge Street Development CorporationNYC Justice Corps members have given me new hope that, with the right resources and programming, individuals returning home can change their life outlooks.
The NYC Justice Corps maximizes investments made by New York City taxpayers to improve public safety and lift New Yorkers from poverty to self-sufficiency.
Every year, New York State taxpayers spend $3.5 billion to incarcerate New York City residents, most of whom come from 14 community districts including Harlem and the South Bronx. The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates it costs roughly $37,000 per year to imprison an individual and operate correctional facilities; similarly, costs associated with imprisoning individuals from high incarceration community districts in New York City are estimated at $1,000,000 per City block, otherwise known as the “million dollar block phenomenon”*. The NYC Justice Corps is committed to effectively leveraging resources to support the development of key communities and the progress of their court-involved young adults.
*Justice Mapping Center, “Multi ‘million-dollar’ blocks of Brownsville”, 2007
We anticipate program participation will:
- Broaden opportunities available to Corps members,
- Reduce rates of incarceration and poverty,
- Justify the City’s investment in the NYC Justice Corps.
The independent research firm Westat, Inc., in partnership with Metis Associates, is evaluating the NYC Justice Corps; final findings will be available winter 2012. The evaluation will measure and report on the effectiveness of a range of intended impacts at three levels:
- Recidivism, employment and education outcomes of Corps members.
- Target communities’ development resulting from community benefit service projects and capacity to reintegrate young adults who have been involved with the criminal justice system.
- Ability of community-based organizations to provide services to young adults with criminal justice involvement.
The William Hodson Senior Center is the oldest senior center in the United States. Corps members undertook an intensive clean-up campaign, restored the stage in the main dining room, and repainted the walls of the auditorium to create a vibrant atmosphere for the seniors.
Crotona Park is the largest park in the South Bronx and has partnered with the Justice Corps on a variety of outdoor and indoor projects. Corps members have repainted basketball courts and playground areas, as well as the walls of the pool house. Most recently, they helped design and plant a new garden landscape by building a fence around newly installed flowerbeds to prevent erosion.