Robert Bracewell, director of the Justice Coalition, is Eye on Jacksonville’s Citizen of the Month, in recognition of the work he does to help victims of crime.
Bracewell became director in January after years of service on the board of the coalition, which was founded almost three decades ago by the late Ted Hires after Hires was the victim of an armed robbery.
Having lived in Jacksonville nearly all his life, graduating from Paxon High School and attending Florida Junior College, Bracewell has deep roots and an abiding interest in helping the community. He retired from the Navy civil service and operated an inspection company locally. Currently he lives in Nassau County.
His interest in helping crime victims came about after he was Invited to an event and heard a presentation on the Justice Coalition, a Christian faith-based organization.
The coalition is an advocate for innocent victims of violent crimes and strives to educate the public. It also advocates in Tallahassee and was involved in the effort to get Marsy’s Law enacted by the Florida Legislature, to protect victim’s privacy.
However, the local coalition has been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and by the loss of a state grant. It does not get any financial aid from local government as many other organizations do.
Nevertheless, it manages to provide aid to about 40 victims a month. This includes crisis intervention, counseling and going to court on behalf of victims. When possible, they also provide financial support and transportation.
Bracewell said the coalition published a newsletter until printing became too costly. It is now trying to publish it online.
“We’ve been around 28 years and people still don’t know what we do,” Bracewell said.
Despite what crime statistics may show, Bracewell’s personal view is that crime hasn’t gotten better in recent years, although he supports both the sheriff and state attorney’s efforts to lower the crime rate.
“The community needs to work together,” he said.
Bracewell said the Justice Coalition’s efforts to ramp back up may involve becoming a food bank for the Westside. It will need more volunteer help to accomplish that goal.
One fundraising effort will be a breakfast sponsored by the Justice Coalition and the Signal 34 Foundation, which helps police officers who have been injured and their families. The breakfast is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. Nov. 14 in the F.O.P. building at 5530 Beach Boulevard.
We urge you to help if you can and if you can’t help financially, reach out to your member of the city council and urge them to help fund this important organization. They personally fund their own non-profits from their seats on the council so they should share the funds and help with organizations such as The Justice Coalition.
