This brief showcases how learning communities can be used to support innovation, growth, and collaboration among organizations working toward shared outcomes. The Center for Trauma Innovation, a CJII-funded project, is used as a case study.

In 2019, College and Community Fellowship (CCF) received CJII funding to launch the Build-Out of Student Services (BOSS) project, which provides reentry programming based in New York City that develops education and career skills specifically among formerly incarcerated women.

CIP funded seven colleges and universities to deliver college instruction across 17 prisons in New York from Fall 2017 through Spring 2022. CUNY ISLG conducted a multiyear process evaluation of the Initiative to assess its implementation

Graham Windham’s “Graham SLAM (Support, Lead, Achieve, Model)” and The Door’s “Academy” offer New York City foster youth transitioning to adulthood personalized support through mentorship, coaching, and youth-driven services.

The study found a strong, significant, and consistent effect of college participation on reducing new convictions following release. Participation in this form of postsecondary education reduced reconviction by at least 66 percent.

The West Harlem Community Reentry and Restoration Project (WHCRRP) is an initiative funded under CJII in response to the June 2014 law enforcement intervention that led to the arrest and indictment of 103 individuals living in the Manhattanville and Grant public housing developments and surrounding areas.

Sanctuary and STEPS successfully designed and continue to implement a trauma-focused model of programming that treats diverse families as a unit and facilitates communication and collaboration between the adult and child treatment staff

Margaret's Place aims to raise awareness about experiences of trauma and violence among youth and provide direct interventions for those impacted, with particular attention to the many types of violence (e.g., home, community, and dating) experienced by young people. This report presents findings from the process evaluation of Margaret’s Place that was conducted between 2019 and 2021.

The goal of the Career Readiness Training Program (CRTP) is to help New York City’s economically marginalized families overcome barriers to financial independence, such as chronic unemployment exacerbated by abuse, structural discrimination, the stigma of poverty, limited opportunities for education, and shelter system dependence. By participating in the CRTP, survivors, who are often concerned for their safety and that of their children, have an opportunity to regain financial control and get a fresh start in life.

In this brief, the Urban Institute and Gallaudet University describe the methods they used to evaluate Barrier Free Living’s (BFL’s) Deaf Services (DS) program, which aims to improve direct services for domestic violence survivors who are deaf and increase local stakeholders’ awareness of deaf survivors’ needs in New York City.

Research indicates deaf people report experiencing victimization at higher rates, but a lack of accessible resources and trauma-informed services for American Sign Language (ASL) speakers makes it difficult for deaf people to report crimes and access support.

In response to these issues, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DANY) has provided funding to support Barrier Free Living’s (BFL’s) Deaf Services (DS) program since 2017 through its Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII).

In recent years, the number of school-based programs addressing the impact of violence and trauma in children and youth has grown. This report presents the methods, findings, and recommendations from the interim evaluation of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation’s Margaret’s Place program.

In recent years, domestic violence (DV) experts have called for programs with traditional models to incorporate trauma-informed approaches that better consider participants’ trauma histories, needs, and experiences. One DV service organization in New York City, the Urban Resource Institute (URI), created a program that aims to incorporate such innovative practices.

The program operates with the stated purpose of developing a network of trained community navigators to identify individuals disconnected from services and helping them locate, connect, engage, and stay involved with services they need to meet and achieve their goals.