Under the leadership of new Program Director Jennifer Hinton, Unity Square, a community development and social concerns initiative of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, is looking forward to working with its partners Holy Family Parish and New Brunswick Tomorrow to continue to empower community members and catalyze change in New Brunswick.
Among the many goals of the Unity Square partnership is to encourage entrepreneurship among community members. To that end, an information session facilitated by Rising Tide Capital about its community business academy was held on January 16
th at the Unity Square Community Center. The 12 week academy will be held at the Community Center from February to May and will assist prospective small business owners from the community with the planning and implementation of their business goals.
Among Unity Square’s additional accomplishments are New Brunswick’s only bilingual Crime Watch group, the passage of a first-of-its-kind city ordinance aimed at preventing wage theft, the hosting of a bilingual candidate forum for the New Brunswick School Board elections, the maintenance of a growing system of community gardens, and education and outreach to over 2,000 residents on tenant rights issues.
Unity Square moved to its current location, a renovated fire house at 81 Remsen Avenue in 2014 and has served the community by working closely with partner organizations, city officials, and other stakeholders to achieve its goals. Last year, more than 1600 Unity Square residents participated in community organizing and development. For more information, visit
www.ccdom.org/usq .
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