Nonprofits Continue Efforts To Save New York State Support For Close To Home Program

A 14-year-old former juvenile offender named Justin was well positioned in a New York State Capitol hallway as a group of lawmakers emerged from a backroom meeting just after high noon on Monday, March 5. 

There was State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, and counterparts from the Assembly: Tremaine Wright, Victor Pichardo and Inez Dickens. And these legislators were about to come across a group of a dozen juvenile justice advocates who were prepared to lobby as hard as they could to whomever was willing to hear about why the Close to Home program needed to be saved. was in peril.

“Good Shepherd Services!” said Montgomery.

She had recognized a representative of the New York City nonprofit in the hallway and before she knew it, Justin had been brought forward to tell the Democratic lawmakers how Close to Home had transformed him from a juvenile offender at risk of recidivism into the thriving teenage boy whose height had him hovering above them all and whose words evoked statements of support from the legislators, Annie Minguez, a representative of Good Shepherd Services who was among the group in the hallway, told New York Nonprofit Media.

"When you’re able to bring young people to tell their story it is one of the most impactful ways to make members listen,” She said in a telephone interview. “(Justin) learned as being part of Close to Home that his mistakes don’t define him and he could leave this program and start new.”

To read the full article, visit http://nynmedia.com/news/nonprofits-have-hope-in-effort-to-save-new-york-state-support-for-close-to-home-program