In July, PEI Kids began reaching out to Capital Health to discuss partnering on a violence-prevention initiative in the City of Trenton to reduce the urban street violence that has resulted in scores of traumatized, injured, and murdered youth. Realizing many of these young victims end up in their trauma center, Capital Health saw a unique opportunity to connect with first- and second-time offenders in PEI Kids' CJOOS - Comprehensive Juvenile Offenders Outreach Services - program to reach youth on the cusp and at-risk of more dangerous involvement in criminal life.

The CJOOS program, held at Trenton's Sam Naples Center, works with teens on probation to reduce delinquency and violence, provide job-readiness and life skills, social supports, and other aid to adjudicated and at-risk teens as an alternative to engaging in criminal behavior. Beginning on Saturday, December 5th, PEI Kids will co-facilitate three CJOOS sessions with Capital Health's team, as part of an ongoing violence-prevention initiative that will continue into 2016.

PEI Kids Executive Director, Roz Dashiell, explains, "we already knew that many of the kids in our CJOOS program have had their lives saved and have literally been 'put back together' by the very capable team at Capital Health. We realize, however, that we can't simply continue to deal with the medical and legal aftermath of this violence. We have to think innovatively about how to reduce this level of violence which takes the lives of our young sons and daughters prematurely, and spawns a cycle of escalating brutality.Through this partnership, we are trying to address those very issues." 

Capital Health's Steffanie Archbald, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, and Suzanne Borgos, Vice President of Planning, took the lead on pulling together their clinical and support teams. PEI Kids and the Capital Health team believe that this partnership provides a real opportunity to affect change through meaningful dialogue between young people and the medical professionals who work closely with them and their family members through times of extreme crisis and trauma. "These medical professionals are uniquely positioned to deliver a message of hope and second chance," adds Dashiell.

CJOOS Program Coordinator Rob Fiorello states, "I'm looking forward to all participants in this collaboration learning from each other. I think we have much to teach the kids and they have much to teach us about the challenges of their daily lives." 

The CJOOS program is funded by The City of Trenton CDBG, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Church & Dwight, PSE&G, and donations made to PEI Kids. To learn more about PEI Kids' CJOOS program, please click here or contact Rob Fiorello at 609-695-3739 or [email protected] .