NJCU Community Center’s Mission

The NJCU Community Center’s mission is to link students with resources that empower and enhance self-determined success. The center strives to provide equal access to such resources that those who benefit without asking are often taken for granted.

These comprehensive resource availability areas include food and housing insecurity, nutrition and hygiene, professional clothing, mental health counseling, financial literacy, and rights of the undocumented. Students who are food insecure tend to face an array of obstacles limiting their self-determined ability to succeed. Therefore, by addressing all issues under one welcoming roof at the center, we increase overall success.

The term ‘community center’ focuses on the education ecosystem using equity, specifically and inclusion lenses. Placing community at the center is about access to nutrition and knowledge and creating an environment where people feel welcome, equal, and empowered to determine their path to prosperity. 

Notably, the center strives to minimize the effects that stigma can impose on us all, inscribed over the center’s doors, ”In this Community, we are ALL needed.” 
 
Our Vision is of an NJCU community that is thriving because everyone is valued, and everyone has access to the resources they can use to determine their success.
Our goals of the Community Center as laid out in detail below encompass five main areas within the Community Center

1. To eliminate the barrier to self-determined success that lack of access to and awareness of comprehensive resources on campus and in Hudson County creates
2. To eliminate the barrier to self-determined success that food insecurity creates
3. To connect all students who wish to tackle issues of stress and trauma with those trained in mental health counseling 
4. To ensure professional clothing provided to students based on merit can be availed of through the free provisions of our clothing RACK, thereby eliminating the barrier of the financial stress of having to buy professional clothing for internships and interviews
5. To operate a welcoming, comfortable, stigma-free, event-packed Community Center for all students. These events deal with issues of food and housing insecurity, nutrition and hygiene, professional clothing, mental health counseling, financial literacy, the rights of the undocumented, and more 

988 and The Suicide Prevention Lifeline

988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and is now active across the United States.

When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary.

The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis.

More Information

NJ 211

The NJ 211 statewide service is free, confidential, multilingual and always open. There are three easy ways to reach the service: Dial 2-1-1; text your zip code to 898-211; or chat online.  NJ 211 is open 24/7/365. Services are free, confidential, and multilingual. Get connected today.

Virtual Hours:
Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
GSUB 106
For more information contact Barbara Ruggieri at communitycenter@njcu.edu