Episode 3 - **This podcast was recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least one in five teen-agers will get a sexually explicit photo this year — most of those images sent to them via texts, emails and smart phone applications. Many of those images will come from people they know, but some will be from people they meet online through social networking applications that make it easy for users to share photos and videos.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout New England, Justice Resource Institute faced its greatest challenge: how to deliver care to 10,000 clients, most of them suffering some form of trauma, in three states while protecting those clients as well as JRI’s more than 2,800 employees from the disease.

Read the full article.

1pm - 2pm

Let's celebrate with a virtual celebration.

Younity works to empower youth 16-25 of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities. Everything about our access center - from the physical space to services and programming - is directly informed by the voices of the youth we work with.

JRI, a nonprofit provider of trauma-informed care to children and families in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, has announced the addition of Maria Carolina (Caro) Ruiz of Boston to its Board of Trustees.

The Gloucester Health Department has launched a new, free program to help members of the public navigate the mental health care system. 

Children's Friend and Family Services, a division of JRI, will be offering free access to one of its representatives for community members to contact for help when seeking mental health care. 

The program is open to anyone from Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Beverly or Danvers who is seeking support navigating the mental health system. 

Michelle Loranger, Executive Director  at the Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County wrote this op-ed with an important message about child abuse during the pandemic.  A surge of child abuse cases is expected once children start to engage with mandated reporters.

Read the full message.

THOMPSON, Conn. — Dr. Tina Mannarino, an educational leader who has spent most of her career working on behalf of children with special needs, has been named Director of Education at River Run Academy at the Susan Wayne Center of Excellence, a school of Justice Resource Institute (JRI).

You may ask: How can I help? 

Certainly you can make sure that your local legislator knows how hard we are working, and how much we need PPE supplies. If you have the ability to make masks, we will take all you can supply. But I will tell you the thing that may help the most—letting the staff who are working with your loved one know how much you appreciate the level of commitment, caring and personal sacrifice they are making. Like each of you, they are facing their own stress at home—and yet have chosen to dedicate themselves to those in need.

To the extended JRI community: 

Our entire agency has rallied around the programs where the greatest stress has been: 24-7 settings for kids and adults. Community based programs have “adopted” their residential counterparts and are sending support, both material and spiritual. 

Community-based and day school programs have embraced remote learning and telehealth, doing our best to continue to support students, families, and adults in need.