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Our Programs:
Community Resources for Justice 355 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116 Phone: (617) 482-2520 Fax: (617) 262-8054 crj[@]crjustice.org |
 CRJ's Brooke House Receives ACA Accreditation CRJ’s Brooke House received its Accreditation Certificate at the American Correctional Association (ACA) Conference in Tampa, Florida on Monday, January 25th. The final step of the process was a hearing at conference where Jessica Castro, Program Director of Brooke House, Yolanda Schmidt, Assistant Director, Susan Jenness Phillips, Department Director for Standards and Quality Assurance, Brenda O’Donnell, Deputy Department Director for Adult Services and Bill Coughlin, COO, presented the Brooke House Program and our Plan of Action before a panel of four ACA Accreditation Commissioners. With a score of 97%, everyone involved deserves congratulations, especially the dedicated staff at Brooke House.
 CRJ Opens New Residence in Leominster, MA Community Resources for Justice has opened a new program in Leominster, Massachusetts. The residence will be the home for five women and is funded under a contract with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Disabilities. "It is a fantastic building and we have brought in a very talented staff to run it," said Eric Scharf, Department Director for the Community Strategies for Massachusetts (CSMA), the CRJ Department that will operate the program. "The home has been beautifully decorated by our QA Coordinator, Deb Williams," added Michelle McCormick, CSMA's Director of Business Operations. "It will be a great place for these women to live." This new program will be the 21st residence operated by CSMA. CRJ's Community Strategies Department is proud to share a few stories of how programs are giving back to others this holiday season.
.jpg) Morgan Frye Named CRJ Volunteer of the Year Morgan Frye, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee for CRJ's Community Strategies for Massachusetts Department, was presented the first annual Volunteer of the Year Award at CRJ's recent holiday party. Ms. Frye, a Paralegal at Ellis and Associates in Worcester, MA, has dedicated countless hours to improving the lives of our consumers over more than 5 years as Chair of the committee.
On Tuesday, December 8, 2009, Watson Academy, the educational enrichment program of Community Resources for Justice (CRJ), celebrated the 3rd graduation of the Getting Beyond the System (GBS) Self Advocacy Seminar at Harvard Law School. The GBS program is a partnership between CRJ and the Youth Advocacy Center (YAC) in New York, creators of the curriculum. With classes held at Harvard Law School and facilitated by a Law School student, GBS teaches youth and young adults how to advocate for themselves in careers and in life.
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 Who Helped You? A celebration of the life-changing influence of a helping hand Please join Community Resources for Justice on Thursday, April 8 at the Winter Garden in Boston’s Back Bay at our annual 'Who Helped You?' Event. We will celebrate the work of CRJ and recognize three special people who have helped us to advance our important mission. We call them Community Heroes.
 It is never too late to join our Rodman Ride effort. Every gift directed toward our Rodman Challenge Grant goal will be matched with an additional 15%. Please give today! Help us to maximize your contribution and cushion the blow of reduced funding from other sources by making your contribution today. Visit our development page to make your contribution! Please direct your check or credit card gift to "Rodman Ride" either on the check or in the comment section of your online transaction. CRJ Publishes New Report for The Boston Foundation CRJ's Crime and Justice Institute recently published Priorities & Public Safety: Reentry and the Rising Costs of our Corrections System for The Boston Foundation (TBF) as part of TBF's Understanding Boston series. The report examines the growth of the cost of corrections in Massachusetts in contrast to government spending for other competing sectors, identifies programs that could be adopted here, and describes specific reforms to bring costs under greater control.
Watson Academy, the educational enhancement program of CRJ, recently published its second Literary Magazine. The Literary Magazine, titled, “Voices Within” is a heartwarming collection of writings, poetry and art work from clients of the Social Justice Service Department (SJSD) of Community Resources for Justice. the project was undertaken to enhance literacy for our clients. We wish to express our sincere gratitude to Nicole Walter who served as the tutor/writing coach for this project. Nicole worked with the clients of the SJSD programs over the summer to create this magazine. We also wish to thank staff of the programs for supporting this endeavor and give special thanks to the clients for sharing their stories, poetry and art work.
“Lighting the way: Improving Corrections Policies and Practices” outlines CJI's Integrated Model of Corrections Founded on Evidence-Based Practices. In collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections, CJI spearheaded the initial development of the Integrated Model of Corrections in 2002. Based on verifiable, evidence-based practices, this model is at work improving corrections practices in states and systems nationwide. For policy makers and corrections practitioners across the country, the CJI integrated model of evidence-based corrections is helping institutionalize organizational development and collaboration to implement strategies and practices proven to reduce offender risk and enhance public safety. Working with stakeholders in states and communities from coast to coast, CJI helps improve corrections policies and practices using research and proven methods. click here to view the booklet.
 Boston Globe Runs CRJ Op-Ed Article John Larivee, CRJ's CEO, and Len Engel, Criminal Justice Policy and project Coordinator for CRJ's Crime and Justice Institute published and Op-Ed piece, entitled GPS Alone Does Not Protect Us in the September 1 edition of the Boston Globe. The article was in response to the recent decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that sex offenders convicted prior to 2006 cannot automatically be required to wear GPS devices to monitor their location. The authors note that "The decision set off a hue and cry regarding questions of public safety, some even suggesting that it would result in sex offenders flocking to Massachusetts. Quite the opposite; the decision affords Massachusetts the opportunity to put in place the most effective system for safeguarding its citizens." You can read the entire article by clicking on "read more" below.
 CRJ Presents Whitepapers on Evidence-Based Practices CRJ's Crime and Justice Institute, along with the National Institute of Corrections is proud to present a series of seven whitepapers on the implementation of evidence-based practices, known as the Box Set. The papers are designed to share information with criminal justice system stakeholders about how the implementation of evidence-based practices and a focus on recidivism reduction affect their areas of expertise in defense, jail, judiciary, pretrial services, prison, prosecution, and treatment. The individual papers of the Box Set can be found at www.cjinstitute.org |
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Thanks to the generosity of many organizations, the holiday season was a little brighter this year for many of the people CRJ serves. Giving Trees decorated with the gift wishes of our consumers in Community Strategies for Massachusetts and McGrath House were placed in locations throughout Massachusetts. We wish to thank the kind people from Partners Health's Development Office, Third Sector New England, the Dewey Square Group, the Paxton, MA Police Department, the Westminster MA IC Credit Union, the Westminster Pharmacy and the CRJ Administrative and Corporate Offices for their generous response to these giving tree requests. We would also like to thank the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association (Boston), City Mission Society, the United Parish in Brookline and Toys for Tots for their contributions that provided gifts for the women of the McGrath House and their children at a fabulous holiday dinner and party. In addition, the Leominster MA Knights of Columbus provided CSMA with their hall for a fun holiday dinner and dance. We really appreciate everyone's support and wish all the best in the New Year.
The Community Resources for Justice Board of Directors reelected Scott Harshbarger President at its annual meeting in December. Also reelected to officer positions were Gerald Kelley, Vice-President, Thomas DeSimone, Clerk, and Robert Watson, Treasurer. Re-elected to three-year terms were Michael O'Connor of Partners Health Care, Brian Callery of Baystate Planning Group, Annette Hanson of MetroWest Hospital and Peter Patch of the Summit Group Publishing Company. Congratulations to all!
The Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice was recently awarded a continuation grant from the Boston Foundation (TBF) for ongoing Massachusetts reentry policy work. The grant is for calendar year 2010, and represents the next phase in our ongoing work with TBF to impact policy and practice in Massachusetts’ criminal and juvenile justice systems.