Blog: Reclaiming Futures - 2015

The National Program Office (NPO) is very pleased to announce Reclaiming Futures' new rural community collaborative site in NW Ohio. The NW Ohio Reclaiming Futures (NORF) Initiative is a collaboration between Defiance, Henry, and Williams Counties, as well as their regionally shared service providers and community stakeholders. As a new example of a Reclaiming Futures rural community collaborative site (the site model also exists in Kentucky and North Carolina), NW Ohio provides an important example of a site tapping into an innovative state justice reinvestment fund in order to join the Reclaiming Futures initiative.

NW Ohio is Reclaiming Futures' fifth site in the state of Ohio. Evan Elkin, Executive Director of Reclaiming Futures, credits the growing presence of Reclaiming Futures in Ohio to the neighborly and supportive tendencies of Ohioans, which creates a grassroots sharing of information. “They share with their communities and around the state - and word of the positive outcomes the existing sites are seeing is getting around,” explains Elkin.

Defiance, Henry, and Williams Counties of NW Ohio provide an excellent example of Ohio's collaborative and supportive nature, and how this quality of working together and sharing resources particularly benefits rural communities. The three counties joined together to propose the NORF Initiative upon recognizing a need in their communities for more consistency and specifically...

According to research conducted by The World Prison Brief, the United States has the highest prison population of any developed country in the world. The tendency to incarcerate, rather than rehabilitate, has taken its toll on our country’s most vulnerable youth. Due to increased public awareness around this issue, communities nationwide are exploring and implementing alternatives to incarceration -- as well as actively seeking to end the school-to-prison pipeline. Restorative Justice is one of the alternatives to the standard juvenile justice approach.

The Reclaiming Futures program in Montgomery County, Ohio, has been using arts programming to build assets in our young people since 2010. More than 110 youth have benefited from the Helping Adolescents Achieve Long-term Objectives (HAALO) program since that time.

On June 30, 2015 Montgomery County Juvenile Court hosted a Community Mural Dedication to celebrate the amazing work of the HAALO Program. The “Signs to a Creative Future” mural was dedicated to the youth artists who spent countless hours conceptualizing and creating the mural.

Help us continue to improve our work by filling out our new positioning survey!

As Reclaiming Futures heads into its 15th year of service, we’re seeking your help to identify new opportunities to grow this initiative and better serve vulnerable, young populations. We hope you’ll contribute your input in our new survey to help us understand where Reclaiming Futures is doing well, and where we can get better.

Click here to start the survey.

The 16-question survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. At the end of the survey, you'll have the opportunity to be entered to win a $50 Amazon, Visa or Starbucks gift card (winner's choice).

The number of youth falling victim to gun violence is a very serious issue for society. Homicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. The troubling trend of gun violence has lead many communities to work together to address the problem. On May 5, 2015, Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Anthony Capizzi hosted the Juvenile Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence (JCIRGV) Call-In. Since 2010, Montgomery County Juvenile Court has hosted six Call-In sessions, serving a total of 87 at-risk youth. The youth are identified through Montgomery County Juvenile Court after collaborating with the Dayton Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. The youth selected are at a high risk to be the victims or the perpetrators of gun violence. They have also been identified as being associated with a gang or organized criminal activity.

The Juvenile Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence (JCIRGV) is comprised of the Dayton Police Department, Trotwood Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, F.B.I., A.T.F., U.S. Marshall, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office and Montgomery County Juvenile Court. This multi-jurisdictional, multiagency, mutual effort is intended to quickly and effectively reduce gun violence and associated homicides. JCIRGV is collaborating with state and federal law agencies, social service providers, and the community to present a clear message that gun violence must stop.

On Thursday May 21, 2015, the Honorable Judge Anthony Capizzi hosted his annual Drug Court Graduation.  This year’s graduation was unique in that it was the first time  the graduation was not held at the Montgomery County Juvenile Justice Center.  The celebration of recovery was held in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.  The Honorable Judge Walter Rice shared his bench with The Honorable Judge Anthony Capizzi to preside over the graduation in United States District Court Federal Building in Dayton, Ohio.

During the first part of the ceremony Judge Rice shared the bench with Judge Capizzi, as they both welcomed the eleven graduating youth, families, court staff, Deputy Director and Director of Ohio Department of Youth Services and various elected officials from Montgomery County.  Once the welcome was complete, Judge Anthony Capizzi shifted his attention to the amazing accomplishments of the eleven graduates, and became the first visiting judge to preside over a Juvenile Drug Court Graduation in the United States District Court.

We recently announced the departure of Susan Richardson, Reclaiming Futures’ current national executive director. Effective May 11, Susan will transition out of the organization and return to North Carolina after four years leading and overseeing the national program office in Portland, Oregon.

In commemoration of Susan’s work over the last few years, the Reclaiming Futures team has gathered their favorite memories working under her leadership:

Susan has been an incredible force within and across Reclaiming Futures since we first met years ago.  Her passion, dedication and determination to learn, promote, advance and celebrate the mission, the values and the spirit of the initiative has been unmatched. She has tirelessly tended and expanded the networks and partners of RF.  She has thoughtfully shepherded an important (and challenging) transitional phase of our effort.  Her contributions will always be valued and we will miss her regular presence in our ranks - but truly consider her a valued part of the Reclaiming Futures family.  Thank you Susan!!!
-Laura Nissen, Ph.D., LMSW, CADC III, Dean and Professor, School of Social Work, Portland State University

April in Dayton, Ohio generally means the winter weather is starting to break. Snow showers and subzero temperatures are replaced with rain showers and flowers. For some neighborhoods in Dayton, Ohio the break in the weather brings light to a major issue. The issue of illegal dumping is highly visible once the piles of snow have melted away. In some instances, neighborhoods have been left with tons of trash and debris.  For several blocks certain alleyways can be found with couches, mattress, appliances and construction waste.

On April 1, 2015 Montgomery County Juvenile Court hosted its fourth annual community cleanup in the Fairview Neighborhood. This was a community effort, with multiple partners coming together to improve the appearance of one of our city’s neighborhoods.

Susan Richardson has recently announced her plans to leave the position of national executive director of Reclaiming Futures to return to her home state of North Carolina, and we are grateful for her years of excellent leadership. Yesterday, Reclaiming Futures appointed Mr. Evan Elkin as national executive director, effective May 11, 2015.