COMING TOGETHER

When the planning work for this initiative started, educators, social workers, artists, and community residents recognized that the burden of trauma in Newark was high and largely unaddressed.

Newark is the seat of Essex County, New Jersey, which, over the past ten years, consistently ranks among the top three counties statewide for the highest incidence of domestic violence. About one-third of the population, and nearly half of all children, live below the poverty line. Newark’s unemployment rate of 10.2% is far higher than the statewide average of 5.9 percent. While social welfare programs and public safety initiatives seek to address barriers to, for example, a sense of physical and mental security or housing or access to food, little has been done to address the aggregate lived experience of the children and adults who are coping with so many challenges. And, the pandemic has only increased homelessness, hunger, joblessness, and the healthcare divide, putting extra strain on families across Newark. Local leaders and government officials regularly collaborate across sectors and have committed to making Newark a Trauma-Informed City.