PEI Kids, Capital Health Partner on Violence Prevention Initiative for Trenton Youth

TRENTON, N.J. - Nov. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Trenton, NJ – December 1, 2015 – In July, PEI Kids – a Mercer County nonprofit focused on violence prevention and intervention for children and youth –  reached out to Capital Health to partner on a violence-prevention initiative in the City of Trenton to reduce urban street violence that has resulted in scores of traumatized, injured, and murdered youth.  Realizing many of these 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 intervention team, as part of their 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.  We have to think innovatively about how to break this cycle of violence which takes the lives of our sons and daughters prematurely, and often spawns an escalating rash of retaliatory violence. Through this partnership, we are trying to address those complex 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.

An early supporter of the project, emergency-room trauma surgeon Dr. Steven Johnson -- medical director of both the Multi-Specialty Surgical Practice and Surgical Critical Care at Capital Health, understood the need for this kind violence-intervention program from his experience in urban hospital settings in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newark (Delaware).  A young surgeon with a wealth of first-hand trauma experience, Dr. Johnson will lead one of the three Capital Health CJOOS sessions focusing on the impact of violence on the victim, family, and community.  Other session leaders include James Boozan, Divisional Director of EMS/Patient Logistics and Nurse Manager, Phyllis O’Neill, RN, MSN.  Subsequent CJOOS sessions co-facilitated with Capital Health will focus on health and well-being and on career opportunities in healthcare.

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.

About PEI Kids
Since 1985, PEI Kids’ mission has been dedicated to promoting and maintaining a safe environment for all children by providing Prevention, Education, and Intervention programs relating to personal safety; sexual abuse; bullying, assault prevention, and the overall well-being of the child. Currently serving approximately 14,000 children and their families annually, PEI Kids is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit which provides school-based prevention programs reaching over 13,000 students, teachers and parents.  PEI Kids’ intervention services include crisis counseling for child victims of sexual abuse as well as anger management and diversion programs for adjudicated youth and those at-risk of juvenile justice involvement. Since 2011, PEI Kids has been the lead agency for Greater Mercer Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse which spearheads the Enough Abuse Campaign in Mercer County  -- an effort which has trained over 1,500 Mercer County adults in how to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately to child sexual abuse.  PEI Kids also provides transportation and supervised visitation for children in foster care and their families. To learn more about PEI Kids and how you can support their work, please call 609-695-3739 or visit www.peikids.org.

About Capital Health
Capital Health is the region’s leader in providing progressive, quality patient care with significant investments in exceptional physicians, nurses and staff, as well as advanced technology. Comprised of two hospitals (Regional Medical Center in Trenton and Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell), the Hamilton outpatient facility, and various primary and specialty care practices across the region, Capital Health is a dynamic healthcare resource accredited by The Joint Commission. A three-time Magnet-designated health system for nursing excellence, Capital Health serves as a Level II regional trauma center, regional perinatal center (including a Level III NICU), and emergency mental health screening center. Capital Health also offer the region’s first Pediatric Emergency Department and New Jersey’s first Autism-Friendly Pediatric Emergency Department. Capital Health takes great pride in its innovative programs such as the Capital Institute for Neurosciences; nationally accredited Center for Comprehensive Breast Care; Center for Digestive Health; Marjorie G. Ernest Joint Replacement Center of Excellence; award-winning Center for Oncology; and the Heart & Vascular Institute, which includes the region’s first accredited Chest Pain Center. To learn more, visit http://www.capitalhealth.org/