Spotlight on LaKeesha Eure: A Grassroots Leader Creating Healing Opportunities for Men and Victims of Crime

Mayor Ras Baraka along with various key organizations, funders, and grassroots leaders are diligently working to help the city of Newark become a 'Trauma-Informed City.' The Trauma-Informed Care movement is about building capacity in people, organizations, systems, and communities that cultivates a better understanding of trauma to effectively serve children and families impacted by stress and adversity. This work is happening also occurring in cities like Philadelphia, PA .

Ms. LaKeesha Eure, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention in the Department of Health and Community Wellness for the City of Newark and longtime Chair of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition , is a respected grassroots leader highly committed to reducing violence in the community. Her firsthand experience with shootings and murders is the what fuels her purpose as a dedicated social worker creating change for victims of violence, both men and women.

My Brother’s Keeper Newark interviewed Ms. Eure to highlight her leadership and how she is focuses on shifting the narrative to also view males as victims of violence and impacted by trauma.

Prudential Commits $180 Million to Opportunity Youth: the Largest Private-Sector Investment in Opportunity Youth
Prudential Financial is committing more than $180 million through 2025 to support young people aged 15-29 worldwide who lack access to school, training or regular jobs – a segment of the global population often referred to as opportunity youth.

Prudential has a  long history  of investing in opportunity youth, committing more than $50 million in impact investments and philanthropic support  over the last 20 years  to partner organizations  like My Brother’s Keeper Newark,  to help young people gain the right skills to compete for and succeed in quality jobs.

This is the largest private sector investment to date, which will prepare future global workforce with education and training, build financially stable communities and help break the cycle of poverty in Newark and beyond.

Investing in Kids, Not Prisons: The Urgency of Transformative Youth Justice Reform in New Jersey
Andrea McChristian's Op-Ed, published in May 2019, advocates for greater investment in New Jersey's children and their education rather than their incarceration.

She writes: "Rather than being incarcerated in failed youth prisons that don’t rehabilitate them, our young people need support, encouragement, and intensive treatment with wraparound services within their communities.

McChristian is the Director of the Criminal Justice Reform Initiative at the Institute for Social Justice and the primary author of  Bring Our Children Home: Ain't I A Child-- which forms the basis of the 150 Years is Enough campaign, the leading a campaign to end youth incarceration in New Jersey and transform the juvenile justice system into a community-based system of care.

McChristian will join legislators, clergy, and other civil rights leaders at a press conference on Thursday, June 27, in Trenton to address the urgent need for bold and broad-based youth justice transformation through passage of the Youth Justice Transformation Act and S2100/A3456, which will restore the right to vote to those in prison, on probation, and on parole. We thank McChristian and the NJISJ for their phenomenal work.

Underscoring the Impact of National CARES' Wellness Mentoring Circles in Oakland and Sacramento, CA
In partnership with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, the Oakland Bay Area CARES and Sacramento CARES affiliates have been conducting  Wellness Mentoring Circles --critical group-mentoring sessions that create space for boys to become still, self-reflective, and critical thinkers. Sessions have help young boys cultivate a love for learning and develop peaceful methods to resolve conflict.

To learn more about National CARES Mentoring Movement and the impact of their work, take a look at their latest newsletter .
Invest in Fathers for Family Prosperity | Critical Themes from Convenings with Fathers, Researchers, & Policymakers
Ascend and the GOOD+ Foundation convened fathers, researchers, thought leaders, policymakers, and social service program leaders in the fall of 2018 to explore the Father Factor — a Critical Link in Building Strong Families and Communities. The convening explored the situations and circumstances that prevent fathers from being fully engaged in the lives of their children. It also explored how public systems and services could be reimagine to work for 21st-century families.

Ascend's newest   report   summarizes critical themes that surfaced from the convening and provides practical examples on how to increase father engagement for the well-being of children, families, and communities.
Review Last Month's Issue
If you missed it, review our last newsletter here:

We want to hear from you! Contact us.

My Brother's Keeper Newark
Call or Text: 973-594-6295 | Office: (973) 624-9400 x 34