Prioritizing healing, equity, and lived experiences of those most impacted by violence is the heart of Newark Community Street Team’s mission.
What is Newark Community Street Team?
Founded in 2015, Newark Community Street Team (NCST) serves as Newark’s frontline violence intervention and victim support initiative.
NCST provides trauma-informed care that prioritizes healing, equity, and the lived experiences of those most impacted by violence and systemic harm.
Community members serve as NCST’s Change Agents, leveraging peace and connecting potential clients to services.
NCST’s programs offer a variety of wraparound support to Newark children, families, and individuals, including:
- Healing through poetry, painting, and other art therapies
- Accompanying victim advocates through court
- Acting as a liaison between police/law enforcement
- Helping families recover from violence through relocation
- Providing assistance with housing, finding a job, financial literacy
- And more!
The Trauma Recovery Center is the organization’s key program, providing further support through collective healing with an emphasis on family engagement.
The Trauma Recovery Center
The Trauma Recover Center (TRC) is a nationally acclaimed model designed to help victims of violent crimes through mental health treatment, health care, and legal resources in the aftermath of trauma.
NCST’s TRC is one of 4 in New Jersey, and has seen over 1,000 clients in the past 5 years.
Currently, the TRC serves children and their families in Essex and Hudson County who have experienced trauma. Services are free and provided to those in need, regardless of insurance coverage and/or documentation status.
Change Agents reach out to individuals or families, establish trust, and then advise them to visit NCST. This helps to break the stigma within the community to reach out for help related to mental health and violence prevention.
When children are referred to the TRC, they are screened for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and any behavioral concerns.
NCST provides a dual model of treatment through the TRC, with collective and individual healing.
Once enrolled in the program, children and families receive weekly therapy sessions and case management services.
- Different types of therapies include:
- Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
- Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET)
- Exposure Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Expressive Art Therapy
- Play Therapy
- Aroma Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (S. T. A. I. R.)
- Reflection Practice
- Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Case management services connect families to housing resources, food security, education resources, and medical care.
What Sets Newark Community Street Team Apart?
NCST’s dedication to compassionate, trauma-informed care solidifies the impact of its work.
Turrell’s Program team visited NCST in the beginning of October, meeting the team and the environment where children and families are served.
NCST operates within the community, with its building resembling a home with multi-colored rooms.
Beyond mental health services, NCST provides:
- Community referrals to partners such as:
- Family Justice Center, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Division of Family Assistance and Benefits, Ironbound Community Corporation, La Casa de Don Pedro and more
- Family Justice Center, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Division of Family Assistance and Benefits, Ironbound Community Corporation, La Casa de Don Pedro and more
- Continuing education, English as a Second Language classes, etc.
- Child care assistance
The organization has a partnership with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) Office in Newark, as well as with schools in the South Ward.
NCST is now working to provide deeper support for children ages 0-10, with dedicated mental health and social services.
The goal is to offer early intervention for young children and their families, disrupting cycles of trauma and promoting long-term healing.
