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Newsweek: Former Assistant AG: Local Nonprofit Workers Are Public Safety Heroes Too | Opinion
I saw the power of these partnerships first-hand—dozens of times—during my time as the assistant attorney general of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the federal government’s primary source of support for state, local, and tribal public safety efforts. In each city I visited, I heard stories about exposure to violence and its deep impact on families and neighborhoods. I also heard about hope, optimism, and the integrity with which frontline service providers approach their very tough work, every day.
A prime example is UTEC, a community nonprofit working to interrupt violence and improve prison reentry outcomes in Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill, Mass. On a visit there in 2023, I joined other Justice Department officials for an in-depth look at how UTEC’s street outreach workers get through to the highest risk youth and help them change their lives. The voices of these heroes rang with pride as they described how they instinctively react “like firefighters” to emergency calls and “plant seeds of hope” in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods. We were joined that day by a local police chief and sheriff, both full of praise for the work of UTEC as a key partner in keeping their communities safe.