How can we make our communities and schools safer from gun violence and substance abuse?
Responding to the Newtown massacre and Gov. Christie’s NJ SAFE initiative, Morristown Councilwoman Alison Deeb has organized a panel discussion to probe these issues and the challenges posed by mental illness. The two-hour event is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2013, at 6:30 pm at the Morris County Library in Whippany.
Panelists include L. Michelle Borden, a licensed social worker and chief operating officer of NewBridge Services Inc.; Maurice Elias, PhD, a Rutgers professor specializing in studies of youth social development; Detective Keisha Higgs of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office; Louis Schwarcz, president of the Mental Health Association of Morris County; Peter J. Tamburro Jr., educator and speaker on the Constitution and Bill of Rights; and David Walker, executive director of the Morristown Neighborhood House. Kinnelon Mayor Robert W. Collins will serve as moderator.
Although the event is not officially part of the NJ SAFE program, Alison said she hopes it will generate useful input for the Governor’s task force, created last month to seek solutions to gun violence, drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, violence in society and school safety.
Alison said she knows the impact of gun violence, after losing a cousin in a gun accident when she was 19. The massacre of 26 school children and faculty in Newtown, CT., last December prompted her to organize the panel discussion to dig deeper.
“I’d like to hear from local experts and start a civil dialogue, “ the Republican councilwoman said in a statement. “We all want a more safe society. No one is for gun violence.”
Here is Alison’s full statement:
INCREASING COMMUNITY SAFETY
A Panel Discussion of Experts Responding to Recent Events
February 11, 2013, Morristown, NJ – Morristown Councilwoman Alison Deeb has organized a panel discussion in response to NJ SAFE, Governor Christie’s Task Force on gun violence, drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, violence in society and school safety. The panel discussion will be held on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Morris County Library in Whippany, New Jersey. This panel discussion is not commissioned by the State of New Jersey or NJ SAFE but hopes to give input into that process. Light refreshments will be provided.
Ms. Deeb is no stranger to gun violence. When she was 19, she experienced a personal tragedy when a cousin died from a gun accident. After Newtown, Deeb had an infinite number of questions and wanted answers – and to know the facts. “I’d like to hear from local experts and start a civil dialogue, “ says Deeb. “We all want a more safe society. No one is for gun violence.”
The expert panel includes: L. Michelle Borden, LCSW, DRCC, Chief Operating Officer, NewBridge Services, Inc.; Maurice Elias, PhD, Rutgers Professor and Expert on Youth Social Development; Detective/SSI Keisha Higgs, Community Affairs Unit, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office; Louis Schwarcz, MA, President & CEO, Mental Health Association of Morris County; Peter J. Tamburro, Jr., Secondary School Educator and Speaker on the Constitution and Bill of Rights; and David Walker, Executive Director, Neighborhood House. Robert W. Collins, Mayor of Kinnelon, will moderate the panel.
There are different opinions, and no one is right or wrong. The goal of the panel is to foster the need for community collaboration, that there is no one sector – schools, law enforcement, mental health, healthcare, parents, media – that contains the answer. It’s all of the above and will require community collaboration to ultimately be successful in creating a more civil society with safe and civil schools.
The councilwoman’s effort has not been commissioned by the State of New Jersey or NJ SAFE but the panel hopes to respond to and give input to that process. The NJ SAFE task force was commissioned by Governor Christie on January 17, 2013. The task force has 60 days to submit their recommendations.
Also attending is Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide dependable, caring volunteers dedicated to sharing their pet’s love by visiting people in need of comfort.” To RSVP, contact sgayle@newbridge.org. To send written testimony to NJ SAFE, email nj-safetaskforce@njdcj.org.
Featured Panel
Ms. L. Michelle Borden, LCSW, DRCC, Chief Operating Officer, NewBridge Services, Inc.
Michelle Borden, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Social Work Manager, brings over 30 years of community mental health leadership and experience to NewBridge Services, an organization dedicated to bringing balance to peoples’ lives through counseling, housing and education. In her current role as Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Borden oversees the day to day operations of all mental health and addictions programs, outreach to the seniors of our community, supportive housing and community living programs, and youth services programs. In addition, she coordinates the disaster mental health response of the organization to traumatic events and represents the organization in local, county and state-wide planning efforts.
Maurice Elias, PhD, Rutgers Professor and Expert on Youth Social Development
Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. is the Professor of Psychology and Internship Coordinator and Director of Clinical Training, Ph.D. Program in Psychology at Rutgers University. He is the Academic Director of the Collaborative, Rutgers’ Center for Community-Based Research, Service, and Public Scholarship (engage. utgers.edu). He is also the Coordinator, Improving School Climate for Academic and Life Success (ISCALS), Rutgers Center for Applied Psychology. He is the Author of the new e-book, “Emotionally Intelligent Parenting,” and a book for parents of young children and their children, “Talking Treasure: Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children” (www.researchpress.com, 2012).
Peter J. Tamburro, Jr. , Secondary School Educator and Speaker on the Constitution and Bill of Rights
Peter J. Tamburro, Jr. has taught in the public schools of Morris County for 32 years. He is currently in his eighth year of teaching in a private school. Mr. Tamburro is a Morristown resident and grew up in Hanover Township. He also lived in Long Valley. Mr Tamburro is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA with a BA in Political Science. He is a veteran of the US Army and was enlisted from 1969-71. He was named the Outstanding Teacher of History in New Jersey in 1990 and represented New Jersey as one of fifty Woodrow Wilson Foundation fellows at Princeton University in 1991. Mr. Tamburro worked as a legislative assistant to Assemblymen Robert Martin and Ralph Loveys in 1984-88 and is an active speaker to civic minded groups on public policy, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Louis Schwarcz, MA, President & CEO, Mental Health Association of Morris County
Louis A. Schwarcz, MA is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Association of Morris County (MHAMC). He has over twenty years experience developing and leading programs in various agencies for adults dealing with serious and persistent mental illness and their families, young people in crisis, people with addiction challenges, veterans and military families reintegrating after war time, seniors attempting
to live independently, and people coping with community disasters. For more information on the MHAMC, visit www.mhamorris.org.
Detective/SSI Keisha Higgs, Community Affairs Unit, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office
Keisha Higgs is a Detective in the Community Affairs Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is the chief law enforcement agency in the County and its primary function is to prosecute individuals charged with committing crimes in Morris County. The Office provides leadership and supervision to the Chiefs of Police and Municipal Prosecutors in order to effectively enforce the criminal laws and the administration of criminal justice throughout Morris County.
David Walker, Executive Director, Neighborhood House
David Walker has served as Morristown Neighborhood House’s Executive Director since July 2002. Morristown Neighborhood House was founded in 1898 as a settlement house that helped Italian immigrants in becoming acclimated to a new culture. Neighborhood House’s core mission; helping new immigrants, helping families who are confronting economic challenges and fostering cross cultural acceptance; has remained the same. Neighborhood House currently runs programs in four cities and seven locations in Morris County. Through programs in Morristown, Dover, Denville and Frelinghuysen Middle School on an average day over 1,500 children and youth receive services from Neighborhood House.
###
