Wilmington’s Community Justice Center (CJC) Announces Founding Board Members and Previews New Office Space
Having been awarded a combined $5.18 million by the New Hanover Community Endowment to found Wilmington’s Community Justice Center, District Attorney Ben David and Harrelson Center Executive Director Meade Van Pelt presented plans today for the center’s physical space and announced the Center’s founding Board of Directors. Wilmington’s Community Justice Center is founded on the evidence-based model and will create new pathways to achieve justice for victims of crime through integrated and comprehensive support services. The CJC is projected to open in Summer 2024.
The Community Justice Center will be located in the recently completed Vicki Dull Annex on the 4th and 5th floors of the Harrelson Center. Plans call for the 13,300 sq ft to accommodate space for medical care and survivor advocates for women and children who have been victims of crime, supportive services for emergency needs and mental and emotional wellness, and office space for allied nonprofit organizations, county law enforcement and WPD detectives. Plans are to address intimate partner, family violence and sexual assault cases on the fourth floor, with youth violence cases addressed on the fifth floor.
The Harrelson Center is Wilmington’s campus of nonprofits where some 40 humanitarian nonprofits closely collaborate. “Our combination of available space, proximity to the courthouse, and humanitarian nonprofit partners already onsite, make the Harrelson Center an ideal location for this integrated center to support public health and safety,” said Ms. Van Pelt.
In announcing the Community Justice Center’s newly formed Board of Directors, District Attorney Ben David said, “We have assembled a group of leaders and citizens who are committed to deliver immediate access to services and people who provide hope and healing for those impacted by crime, especially our youth.”
The Community Justice Center’s Board of Directors is comprised of community leaders representing New Hanover County’s civic, health care, education, judicial, business and faith communities. The 12 members are:
- Chief District Judge Jay Corpening
- Linda Thompson, New Hanover County chief diversity officer
- Aswani Volety, UNCW chancellor
- LaChawn Smith, education consultant
- BJ Losch, Live Oak Bank president
- Michael McWhorter, CEO and co-founder of Mojotone
- Peyton Earey, nonprofit leader
- Lillian Smith, philanthropist
- Mike Ashcraft, senior pastor, Port City Community Church
- Judge James H. Faison
- Virginia Adams, retired nursing educator
- Laurie Whalin, COO, Novant Health Coastal Market
As stated in the grant application, benefits of Wilmington’s Community Justice Center include, but are not limited to:
- Convening a multi-disciplinary team of top professionals
- Providing a single-point access to services for victims and families that operates 24/7/365
- Embracing the police/prosecutor team approach for solving, proving, and preventing crime
- Supporting victims as they work toward safety, stability, and self-sufficiency
- Providing mental health services and rehabilitation to reduce recidivism
- Improving community safety and ending the generational cycle of violence through early intervention, education, and prevention.
For further information watch this talk given by DA Ben David at the Harrelson Center’s annual lunch on November 16th: www.newhanoverpenderda.com/five-arms-of-the-starfish