Collective Community Healing Credited for Historically Low Crime
On a normal afternoon, The HUBB is teeming with 30 to 40 teenagers busy participating in activities such as music production and photography; but this is not just an afterschool program. Instead, it is credited as the home of the first youth-focused trauma recovery center on the East Coast, helping young adults learn to positively process their experiences while developing conflict resolution tools. The HUBB teaches young adults to process their anger in new ways, helping to prevent youth from turning to violence in Newark’s streets.
Located in the Central Ward, it’s a stone’s throw from bustling Downtown Newark and a true symbol of how the work of city officials and community organizations are focused on economic and social development.
“Newark is the leader of all change,” said Al-Tariq Best, founder of The HUBB. “We are the fabric of new things. Most of it is because we are working together in collective community healing.”
The work of Best and The HUBB is contributing to lowered crime rates in Newark. In 2022, the Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé reported that homicides had fallen to its lowest level in 60 years. The recently released 2023 Newark year-end crime stats showed that there was an additional 10 percent overall reduction in violent crimes compared to 2022, and that the number of homicides resolved by arrests was 81 percent. Stats also revealed that in 2023, theft from auto dropped by 26 percent; and burglary and robbery both decreased by 16 percent.
Just ten years ago, in 2013, Newark hit a record of 112 murders–the third highest murder rate in the country–only behind Detroit and New Orleans. Elected officials and law enforcement realized it was time to create change and began laying a foundation that would transform the city. To that end, the Newark Police Department partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement partners six years ago to create the Newark Violent Crime Initiative, which has gathered intelligence on offenders and made hundreds of arrests related to shootings, gun trafficking, drug possession and gang-related activities.
In addition, Mayor Ras Baraka believed that Newark’s residents could change the city’s crime rates by dealing with violence and trauma as not only a law enforcement crackdown, but also as a public health issue. The City of Newark’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, led by Lakeesha Eure, invests $15 million into community based public safety initiatives such as the programming by organizations such as The HUBB, an organization that has served more than 20,000 youth and their families.
Today, more than 40 partnering organizations supporting Newark’s commitment to community-based healing have helped the city continue on a path of transformation. In addition to The HUBB, nonprofit organizations such as Brick City Peace Collective, the Newark Community Street Team, New Direction, Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center, and One Hood are supporting the work of public institutions in the city such as the trauma recovery units at University Hospital, Newark Board of Education, and Rutgers University.
“These valuable partners successfully serve as violence interrupters, outreach workers, victim advocates, credible messengers, and peacekeepers who have successfully assisted with conflict resolution, mediation, providing resources, and by non-traditionally addressing the residual trauma that crime and violence bring to our residents,” Eure shared.
