Support Social Justice

 

• Pro Bono Work
• Attend a Public Hearing
• Driver's License Restoration Fairs
• Driver's License Restoration Trainings
• Fund a Fellowship
• See Moral Panic
• Support Our Gala

 

Pro bono work

Put your skills to work for a good cause! The Institute's Legal Program deploys a range of tools in support of the entirety of the Institute's program, including - but not limited to - litigation. Other activities include legislative research and drafting, regulatory advocacy and recruitment of amicus brief participants. We regularly partner with private attorneys, from firms of all sizes, to expand our capacity.

Given the breadth of the Institute's legal work, attorneys who make for the best fit bring a broad range of interests and a willingness to participate in subject areas and use methodologies both within and beyond their experience. When supervised by an attorney at an approved Legal Assistance Organization such as the Institute, New Jersey's Court Rules provide for the practice of law by lawyers who are members in good standing of the bars of states other than New Jersey so practicing attorneys based in New York or other states will be able to work with us without taking an additional bar exam.

For information on partnering with the Institute in a pro bono matter, contact Craig Levine, Senior Counsel & Policy Director at info@njisj.org or 973-624-9400.

These are some of many of the great organizations that engage in pro bono activities:

• Legal Services of New Jersey
• Education Law Center
• Pro Bono Partnership
• Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
• Fair Housing Council of Northern NJ
• Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
• Youth Advocacy Center/Covenant House New Jersey
• Hyacinth Aids Foundation
• New Jersey Bankruptcy Lawyers Foundation
• New Jersey Protection and Advocacy
• New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Inc.
• Partners for Women and Justice
• Western Monmouth Habitat for Humanity

For more resources, please visit: Pro Bono Committee of the NJSBA

 

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Attend a Public Hearing

One of the most direct and effective avenues for making your voice heard as a concerned New Jersey resident is to 'vote with your feet' by attending a public legislative hearing. These hearings, usually scheduled before important votes and committee deliberations, are held on a regular basis at the Statehouse in Trenton. They cover the range of social justice issues: criminal justice, affordable housing, economic opportunity, and others. To learn more and get involved, visit www.njleg.state.nj.us.

 

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Driver's License Restoration Trainings

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice conducts trainings on how to use "Getting Back on the Road: A Manual for Addressing Driver's License Suspension in New Jersey" to assist service providers' clients with driver's license restoration. The purpose of the Driver's License Restoration Training is to teach service providers and advocates a step-by-step process for assisting individuals with suspended licenses. It is our hope that this training can assist service providers in helping New Jersey residents reach employment and greater economic stability.

We invite advocates, job developers, case managers, counselors and other advocates to a two-hour training session on helping clients address driver's license suspension issues in New Jersey. Participants learn how to read MVC driver's abstracts, what the various kinds of suspension are and how to address each of them, and additional tips for negotiating the judicial and administrative processes involved.

To stay informed on upcoming license trainings, please sign up for our mailing list here. For more information please contact us at info@njsij.org

To download the manual for free, please go to: "Getting Back on the Road: A Manual for Addressing Driver's License Suspension in New Jersey""

To download an overview of the manual, please click here.

 

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Driver's License Restoration Fairs

With a growing public need to understand the process of restoring suspended driver's license, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice also offers, on occasion, Driver License Restoration Fairs that are open to all members of the public. The fairs provide an opportunity for individuals with suspended license to obtain information on and assistance with restoring their licenses, if possible. (To sponsor a fair in your area, please contact us at info@njsij.org).

To stay informed on upcoming license fairs, please sign up for our mailing list.

For more information please contact us at info@njsij.org

 

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Funding a Fellowship

Funding a fellowship is one of the best ways to enable outstanding individuals earlier in their careers to spend two or more years with the Institute helping us develop and implement real-world solutions to the barriers that prevent Newark and other urban communities from achieving their full potential. The qualified applicant will work with senior Institute staff in one or more of the Institute's existing program areas while expanding his or her professional skills.

Past and Current Community Development Fellows:

- Yahonnes Cleary

Yahonnes Cleary became the first NJISJ Lowenstein Community Development Fellow. Over his two years with the Institute, Yahonnes worked to identify creative solutions to predatory lending and home repair challenges faced by Newark.

Yahonnes work includes a report on predatory lending and housing: House Rich, Pocket Poor and Under Threat: Improving Access to Affordable Home Repair Financing in New Jersey, analyzing one of the most critical issues facing existing homeowners: the limited availability of affordable home repair financing and quality contracting services.

Yahonnes also produced a study on Access to Financial Institutions in Essex County which includes maps and analysis of financial institutions, including banks and check cashing outlets, in minority and low income communities in Essex County.

- Laurel Dumont

Laurel Dumont was the Institute's second Community Development Fellow and as such worked on a number of housing-related projects. Laurel later became the Legal and Policy Counsel. In that position, Laurel began overseeing and sustaining the Newark Reentry Legal Services (ReLeSe) Network - a network of volunteer attorneys providing free legal services to address the civil legal barriers to successful reentry; also, in collaboration with the Center for Court Innovation and the Newark Municipal Court, laying the groundwork for the creation of a Newark Community Court offering community service and social service alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders. In addition, Laurel was involved in developing a pilot program in the Essex County Superior Court called the License Reinstatement Program (LRP) that enables a judge in that court to consolidate multiple tickets/fines from multiple jurisdictions within Essex county into a single payment plan, and to reinstate that person's license as soon as payments are commenced, so that that person can secure and maintain employment.

In the Spring of 2009, Laurel left the Institute to begin her own non-profit: The Center for Collaborative Change, which seeks to bring successful public policies, tailored and fit to the needs of Newark.

- Mariana Giraudo

Mariana Giraudo is currently our third Community Development Fellow. In that position, Mariana is doing extensive research on health policies in New Jersey, specifically on public health law and its impact on urban communities and health outcomes. She is also focusing on Emergency Room usage and the best ways to decrease over utilization. Mariana has also become part of the Communications team and has been involved in redesigning the Institute's website, establishing our e-newsletter and bringing together resources that will increase our communication outreach.

 

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See Moral Panic

Moral Panic, the first film produced by the Institute, is based upon the report on gangs and prisoner reentry, "Do No Harm", authored by Rick Greenberg, the Institute’s Equal Justice Fellow.

The film highlights evidence-based strategies that could be used to make gang activity less violent and pervasive. It brings together the voices of policymakers, law enforcement, community-based activists, faith leaders, educators, researchers, and gang members themselves, who explain their own motivations, aspirations, and challenges.

Directed by the critically-acclaimed photojournalist Akintola Hanif, the film takes its title from the sociological term ‘moral panic,’ which describes social phenomena that generate more ‘heat’ (concern and reaction) than ‘light’ (understanding and dialogue). "The film is emblematic of a comprehensive community-wide approach of shared responsibility and shared engagement - the belief that community leaders, law enforcement, and gang members themselves should all be at the table to craft the strategies that will make our neighborhoods safer," says Cornell William Brooks, Executive Director of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. "The voices in the film remind us that this is about communities of families and young people, not faceless monoliths.”

• Watch the 5-minute trailer.
  
  

 

Read news coverage and audience testimonials:

The Star-Ledger:Filmmaker looks at ‘human side’ of gangs

ABC26 News: Louisiana’s incarceration rate is one of the highest in the nation

Blogging From New Orleans Part 3~I AM SEAN BELL screening, Wise Intelligent speaks, Art Exhibits and NOLA youth take to the streets

• Attend an upcoming screening, or sign up to our mailing list to get updates.
• Order a DVD copy. Contact us at info@njisj.org

 

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Support Our Gala

Attend our annual gala that raises dollars and awareness for our core initiatives. Please stay tuned for our 2011 gala event.

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