Program Overview
Community Service provides constructive and proactive opportunities for individuals to make reparations for their crimes as an alternative to incarceration.
Clients Served Last Year:
5,248
Funding Generously Provided by:
Fees, Suffolk County Department of Probation, and private donations.
Nanette Lennon-Knight
Supervisor
Rachel Lugo
Division Director
Leslie Dewrance-Doucet, MPA
Program Director
Contact Information:
Nassau
175 Fulton Street
4th Floor
Hempstead, NY 11550
(516) 483-2323
Nanette.Lennon@eac-network.org
Suffolk (Post Sentence Program)
80 Wheeler Road
Central Islip, NY 11722
PHONE: (631) 648-7100 x210
FAX: (631) 328-9081
rachel.lugo@eac-network.org
Suffolk (Pre-Plea)
60 Plant Avenue
Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 328-9080
Leslie.Dewrance-Doucet@eac-network.org
Program Description
The Problem:
The current overpopulated jail system often does more harm than good to those incarcerated, particularly to those who have committed low-level, non-violent crimes.
Our Solution:
Provide an alternative to incarceration for low-level, non-violent offenders while also enhancing the community-at-large.
How We Do it:
After receiving a referral from the court, individuals are screened and interviewed by an Intake Specialist and then placed to one of our 250 work sites where they perform relevant volunteerism for their determined period of time. They are monitored by a Case Manager who ensure they are fulfilling their obligations. Additionally, participants develop new skills and are linked to supportive services.
Community Service activities may include: parks and highway beautification, graffiti cleanup, support to social service agencies or governmental work sites, and more.
How You Can Help:
Community Service is in need of filling cabinets and storage. To support Community Service with a gift, click here or call (516) 539-0150 x117.
The Outcomes of Community Service
Through purposeful work site placement, Community Service participants gain a better understanding of how their behavior adversely impacts the community.
The program evokes responsibility of the offender for their actions, provides an opportunity for individuals to gain new skills, and often leads to long-lasting volunteer opportunities or even permanent employment.
What People Say About Community Service
I am a Case Manager at EAC Network with the District Attorney’s Pre-Plea Community Service program. It has been particularly rewarding to receive a phone call from a client informing me of how great their placement was and how much they learned from it, or to receive a phone call from a site supervisor thanking me for sending such a hard worker. I have witnessed firsthand clients who have had such a positive experience from completing their community service that they have continued to volunteer at the site after fulfilling their obligation to the court. I am very fortunate to have a genuinely supportive Program Director and co-workers who have continued to offer support since the day that I started.
Continue reading here.
I was really upset when I was sentenced to perform 35 hours of community service. I thought I was going to be assigned to clean bathrooms or some other disgusting job. Instead, the Intake Specialist listened to my concerns, determined that I needed to work in a structured setting, and respectfully assigned me to work at a non-profit agency close to my home. Due to my performance at my community service worksite, I was offered a job at the end of my assignment
