From South Orange Village President Sheena Collum:
Village President Sheena Collum, Trustee Bobby Brown, Sergeant Sally Reaves and Officer Darrell Terry at South Orange Newcomers Day
South Orange Neighbors,
As you may have heard, this year we launched our Community Care and Justice program in partnership with Essex County and Seton Hall University. Our initiative seeks to reimagine traditional models of law enforcement by putting a greater emphasis on wellness and crisis prevention while embedding care and compassion service values into all facets of public safety operations.
Our community is fortunate that serious crimes have been declining for quite some time but nonetheless, each year we experience more than 350 service calls to our police department that include domestic violence, mental health crises, substance abuse, homelessness, and welfare checks. With your help, we are building a new model from the ground up in partnership with our dedicated first responders and outstanding team of social workers.
My friend and colleague Trustee Donna Coallier, Chair of the Village’s Health and Public Safety Committee, has worked tirelessly for the past year on this pilot program and needs all our help in completing a survey that will inform and guide this initiative into the future and I urge all residents to participate. The survey will:
- Examine the community’s needs in the areas of public health and public safety
- Identify the values and assets of the community
- Explore the perceptions of police and community relations, especially regarding racial equity, social justice, and the social determinants of health.
South Orange residents can access the survey here: https://bit.ly/CCnJSurvey
Thank you in advance for your participation and have a great week!
Sheena Collum
Village President
