Program areas at Avenues for Justice
Avenues for Justice (afj) serves two main groups of participants in new york city, ages 13 to 24: 1) "court-involved" participants, which includes those who have active legal proceedings, are diversion (younger participants referred by nyc family court for shorter mandates), are formerly incarcerated, or are in the process of reentry from a detention center; and 2) "at-risk" participants who are at-risk of involvement with the criminal Justice system or who receive short-term assistance or referrals to third party specialists better suited to meet their needs.at afj, it is essential to give young people tools to prepare them for future success. Most participants come to us with gaps in their education, lack adequate employment skills, and need assistance in obtaining long-term employmentparticularly in industries outside of retail and food/beverage, which tend to have high turnover rates. Afj's hire up program aims to fill these gaps by providing services to keep our participants from further involvement with the criminal Justice system by equipping them with sustainable careers for the future. Hire up includes job readiness with certifications and workforce development, educational services, teen advocacy and empowerment, digital and financial literacy, legal rights and responsibilities, and mental and physical health.participation: in 2023, afj exceeded our annual goal of serving 400 participants, serving 517 participants: 296 court-involved participants, including ati, incarcerated/re-entry, and diversion. 221 participants at-risk of involvement in the criminal Justice system, including referrals for short-term assistance. Afj served participants in 39 of nyc's 51 council districts.record intakes: in 2023, afj set an agency record with 132 new court-involved participants, compared to 102 new intakes in 2022.hire up participation: since launching hire up in 2020, afj has placed more participants in internship and employment opportunities which has led them to retaining jobs. In 2023, afj hosted 20 workshops and trainings related to job readiness and workforce development with a total of 1224 attendances by 259 participants, averaging 5 sessions per participant. Of the 259 participants who received job readiness and workforce development training in 2023, 74 participants gained employment, 78% attended at least one hire up workshop, and 52 were still employed at the end of the year.
Our program is effective and efficient. On average, 94% of our court-involved participants are not reconvicted within three years of enrollment at afj. Operating rikers costs nyc taxpayers approximately $500,000 per incarcerated person per year. It only costs afj $6,300 to put one young person through a full year of our wraparound services which lead to employment, academic success, and long-term stability.