Our History
History of New Justice Network
June 9, 2008 is a day that our organization will always remember. It is the start of what brought all of us together. That is the day Caylee Anthony went missing in Orlando, Florida. It actually brought a nation together. Groups formed all over the internet. Chatters, bloggers, message boards, and even groups that went out and helped try to find Caylee.
Sadly no group found missing Caylee, and she was discovered by a meter reader who went into the woods to relieve himself.
But even though Caylee’s body was found, it was not over yet. There was still the trial. And do not forget all the rumors and gossip that swirled around all over the internet. The trial brought out all types of people. Those who wanted to just be a part of it so they could say they were, those who supported Casey, the deceased child’s mother, and those who absolutely despised her. There were chat rooms all over the internet that could feed every possible side that could be supported and even every theory in the world. But when the trial was over, everyone seemed to be a little lost. This case was their entire life. They would spend days on end just pouring over the mountains of evidence released. From wake up to bed time it was Casey, Casey, Casey.
Well, we were one of those groups. That was all we knew for those few years. But that is not why we are here. After the trial was over, and Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty, to most people’s chagrin, our group wanted to do more. Armchair sleuths was what most of the people who were on the web and following the cases were called. We wanted to shed that name. But did not know how we could. So we had began a website called The Fight. It eventually partnered up with Crime In The News. It became a joint venture. But it was still just message boards and chat rooms.
We stayed in that format for almost 2.5 years. Finally, after we had streamed and chatted about the Conrad Murray trial in California, we wanted more. So after long discussions, overnight conference calls, lots of tossing ideas back and forth, we all agreed that we wanted to do something for victims. That is what everyone had wanted to do from the beginning. Everyone wanted to be there for Caylee. But here now we had a chance. A chance to do for others. To help those who are in need.
In December of 2010, the final decision had been made. We were closing down The Fight and Crime In The News, and we were going to be the New Justice Network. When we first started our site with that name, our plan was to be a chat network. But we soon realized that again, that was not what we wanted. We wanted to do more. We just needed to think. Then our purpose became clear. During a conference call, it was decided that we were going to participate in victim advocacy and education.
What did we mean by that? We wanted to do anything we could possibly do to help victims of crime. Help speak for those victims. Help the families of those victims. Give victims the ability to work towards some resemblance of normalcy in their lives. We also felt that we needed to just be another voice working to educate the public on what is really out there.
We know that there are many different programs out there for victims. And we are just another one. We are not trying to be in competition with any one of them. We just wanted to add one more resource to the market. There are new victims to crime every single day. And we want to be another avenue that can work with them, since not all programs are able to take all victims.
So we had to come up with a plan. How were we going to do this? We had a small group of trusted friends that had expertise in various different things that could be used. But how? Then it hit us. We need to be what would be similar to a referral service. What it came down to was that we would be a go between with a victim and different programs and resources available to them. What victim wants to sit around making phone calls or surfing the web to find help? We felt that we would start there. If a victim, or family of a victim contacts us, our group hits the pavement. We start contacting various programs in their area. Negotiating prices, working to get the victim any and all assistance we can possibly get them at little or no cost to them.
When possible, we would assist the victim by paying for some services that are critical to their recovery if that service could not be obtained for free and the victim could not afford it. We will never give money directly to a victim. Any money raised by New Justice Network would go directly to the service provider, with proof of payment and service.
In addition to helping those who had already become victims, we wanted to help make sure others did not. We decided to begin working on educational pamphlets and programs that could be distributed among various schools from elementary to college. We wanted to create programs that can be made available in communities that not only teaches people what they can do in preventative ways, but also work with those who teach self defense to add another level of protection for a person. All of these programs, we hope to make available free of charge.
We decided that we will NEVER ask a victim to pay for any of the services we provide directly. Unfortunately, we have no control over any of the services we may refer a victim to. We also decided that NOBODY who was a part of New Justice Network would be given a salary. This would mean that everyone was doing this because they want to, not because they would be making money. No profits to make off a victim.
New Justice Network does not want to stop there. We have many more goals and dreams for our organization. But we are going to take baby steps. We are going to do this right. We are going to do what needs to be done to help others.
New Justice Network is going to be the dreams come true for those who dreamed it and built it. Our mission is to always put others first. A victim should not be ignored. A victim should be able to find support and resources they need to get back on their feet. Do not ever forget that for every person in the prison system, there is a pretty good chance that there is a victim as well.
