BOLD Justice 
BOLD Justice is an interfaith coalition of 20 congregations that brings together people from the

diverse cultural and religious backgrounds in Broward County to build relationships around

shared values such as wanting safe neighborhoods, good schools, access to jobs.​

Nehemiah Action Assembly Updates

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Safety in Nursing Homes

• Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider attended and provided an update on Operation Spot Check, or the unannounced inspections of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

• There have been 12 Operation Spot Check Inspections that have found serious problems.

• The State Attorney’s Office committed to continue to advocate for senior citizens in Broward County.

• As a first step, the State Attorney’s Office, BOLD Justice leaders, and the state agency are meeting to begin a dialogue about what steps can be taken to improve facilities.

Mental Illness & Housing

• During a pre-meeting with Commissioner Nan Rich, BOLD Justice leaders asked her to spearhead an initiative to provide permenant supportive housing (PSH) to at least 200 people living with mental illness.

• Commissioner Rich did not attend this year’s Action, but her office sent BOLD Justice leaders her plan for expanding PSH and it was significantly less than the 200 that is needed. We are setting another meeting with her office to discuss this.

• While Commissioner Rich was not present, Vice Mayor Dale Holness was in attendance at the Action.

• Vice Mayor Holness committed to support efforts to provide PSH to at least 200 additional people living with mental illness.

Crisis Intervention Team Training:

• Sheriff Gregory Tony committed to provide $100,000 in funding to expand training for his officers on how to deal with individuals suffering from a mental illness.

Civil Citations:

• Sheriff Gregory Tony committed to set a goal of getting Broward Sheriff’s Office’s civil citation useage up to 80% for eligible youth.

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We have a lot to celebrate this year!

Read our Blog Below for the Latest News and Events Info

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Past accomplishments include:

-- $23 million in new affordable rental units from the Broward County Commission

-- Locally based drug treatment rather than prison for 4,000 non-violent offenders

-- 3 employees trained to assist 900 individuals/week to streamlined access to
unemployment benefits

-- Workforce Investment Act which gave Broward residents first chance at jobs created by
$230 million worth of contracts with incentives to hire traditionally hard to hire

Nehemiah Actions
More than 1200 people turned out for the 2018 Nehemiah Action Assembly! We asked for
justice for: Seniors ~ mentally ill ~ kids with arrest records
 

Mental Health: Sheriff Israel committed to provide $110,500 in funding to expand CIT training for
his officers on how to deal with mentally ill suspects and to continue until all of his street officers
are trained.

Seniors: The Assistant State Attorney, Maria Schneider, committed to coordinate with other
agencies in Broward County and the State of Florida to begin periodic unannounced inspections
of nursing homes. Sheriff Israel committed to participate when those are in his jurisdiction.

Juvenile Arrest: While we were not able to deal the blow to the “school to prison pipeline” that
we’d hoped to, the attention we’ve brought and the compromise bill passed in the Florida
Legislature this year have made things better for now. (Things are considerably better in South
Florida than when we started working on Civil Citations.) The new mandatory record keeping
will, at least, provide ammunition for another attack in the future.
 

Marie Turner, Susan Dirgins-Friend