ECS-NJ Summit on Building Beloved Community, recorded live on Oct. 12, 2023
On Oct. 12 Episcopal Community Services of the Diocese of New Jersey (ECS-NJ) and the Diocesan Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CADA) presented an engaging forum grounded in scripture on an important Gospel justice issue, criminal justice system reform. Keynote speaker Senator Raymond Lesniak described the transformative potential of diversion programs in New Jersey.
“Alternatives to incarceration for substance use disorder,” the Fall ECS-NJ Summit to Build and Equip the Beloved Community, included time for conversation about action steps and advocacy actions as well as an announcement of the Fall 2023 ECS-NJ grant awards.
About the speaker
As a New Jersey state senator from 1983 to 2018, Raymond Lesniak was instrumental in passing significant environmental protection laws, abolishing the New Jersey death penalty, and reducing mass incarceration by repealing mandatory minimum sentences and expanding eligibility for treatment in place of incarceration of drug offenders. Senator Lesniak is the recipient of several humanitarian awards and is currently the Founder and President of the Lesniak Institute for American Leadership at Kean University.
About the Summit
The mission of ECS-NJ’s semi-annual Summit on Building and Equipping the Beloved Community is to provide a safe and accessible space where issues related to social justice and the elimination of poverty in the state of New Jersey and beyond can be seriously and respectfully considered. We believe that a network of parishioners, concerned citizens and religious and civic leaders meeting together and sharing ideas, information and best practices will have a positive impact. The creation of compassionate communities where God’s vision of justice, peace and love, which enhance the dignity, health and well-being of all people, can become a reality.