Research Guides: Trenton Homeworks: Social Justice Research Fundamentals: Websites

Introduction to the sources

Below are a sampling of local and national resources from the general web that include organizations devoted to mutual aid, advocacy, politics and policy, educational institutions, and think tanks.

Though these sources are recommended based on a certain level of credibility, you should approach any source with a critical eye. Ask yourself: can you trace the claims that are being made? Does that publisher have an agenda that may impact the content it publishes? If you are unsure about a source, act like a fact-checker: go outside the source and trace the claims, and learn more about author/publisher on wikipedia. When in doubt, or if you get stuck, reach out to a librarian or your teacher!

Local Organizations

This is a sample of local advocacy and mutual aid groups in Trenton and surrounding area. Take some time to explore their missions and current programs, and see if any of their goals align with your project. Consider reaching out and partnering with them to create something that would benefit your community. Are there any organizations not listed here that you would like to work with?

Anchor House Trenton
Anchor House offers safe housing, crisis intervention, community outreach, and supportive services to youth and young adults who have runaway.
Arm in Arm
Arm In Arm is a place where our community comes together to make sure we all have the most basic needs of food and shelter and, as possible, the livelihood to maintain them.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County provides young people, ages 5 to 18, in Mercer County with social, enrichment and recreational activities through after-school, weekend, and summer programs. Our Boys & Girls Clubs after school and enrichment programs focus on improving youth outcomes in education & careers, character development & leadership, and developing healthy lifestyles through physical activity and healthy living.
Creek to Canal Creative District
The Creek to Canal Creative District is the result of Trenton Arts in Focus, a year-long, citywide planning process that engaged more than 750 people from Trenton and beyond in a discussion about how arts and culture can be drivers for equitable, sustainable Downtown revitalization.
CYO South Broad Street
The Catholic Youth Organization (CYO of Mercer County) is a public benefit community organization that enhances the lives of Greater Mercer County youth and their families, by providing affordable, quality, educational and recreational services. Rooted in the Catholic Tradition, the CYO provides these services in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner respecting the culture and faith of all.
HomeFront
HomeFront’s mission is to end homelessness in Central New Jersey by harnessing the caring, resources and expertise of the community. We lessen the immediate pain of homelessness and help families become self-sufficient.
Isles
Isles, Inc. is a community development and environmental organization based in Trenton, New Jersey. With a mission to foster self-reliant families and healthy, sustainable communities, we design and develop effective services that support this mission and share what we learn with others who can make a difference.
Mercer Street Friends
Through a variety of programs and resources, Mercer Street Friends works throughout Mercer County with a concentration in the Greater Trenton area to help individuals and families who are facing economic disparity reach their full potential. This work is made possible by thousands of individuals, families, foundations and corporations.
Passage Theatre Company
Passage Theatre Company is passionate about involving the Trenton community in our work to bring professional theatrical productions to New Jersey's capital city.
Rescue Mission Trenton
The Mission feeds those who are hungry, houses those who are homeless, counsels those seeking recovery, and provides new opportunities for all.
TASK Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen feeds the hungry and offers programs and services to encourage self-sufficiency and improve quality of life for people in the Greater Trenton Area. We began serving meals 42 years ago in a church basement and have since expanded to deliver over 10,000 meals each week, six days per week, at our main Escher Street building and more than 40 community meal sites across the area. Since 1982, we have never turned away anyone who has asked us for a meal. Today, we also provide case management services, adult education programs, job search assistance and creative arts classes, empowering those we serve to thrive, not just survive.
Trenton Circus Squad
Trenton Circus Squad is a non-profit organization offering FREE workshops and after-school programs for youth ages 6-18. Participants practice physical skills that improve health and well-being, learn life skills that help them achieve, and build trust with others.
Young Scholars Institute
At Young Scholars' Institute, we provide educational service for the underprivileged at every stage from K to 12. From one-on-one tutoring to our famous college tours, we strive to create pathways of success for everyone who walks through our doors.

Advocacy Organizations

This is not an exhaustive list! Consider the nature of the topic you are researching, and how it might intersect with these organizations, or ones outside of this list. For additional organizations, visit the resources page of the Civil Rights Project out of UCLA or perform your own online search.

To vet a resource, keep the SIFT method in mind. Think like a fact-checker: can you verify or learn more about the organization by reading up on Wikipedia, newspaper articles, or sites providing an overview of charitable organizations?

American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU reports on and defends the civil liberties of all citizens, including young people. This is a helpful website to access current events relating to issues within the diversity and inclusion conversation.
Amnesty International: US Issues
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom.
Human Rights Campaign
As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
Human Rights Watch: United States
The United States Program of Human Rights Watch protects and promotes the fundamental rights and dignity of every person subject to the authority of the US government. We investigate and expose systemic human rights violations committed by the US federal, state and local governments, with the aim of ensuring racial equity across issue areas but with a particular focus on immigration, the criminal legal system, and achieving racial justice in the United States.
National Center for Transgender Equality
This national organization’s Youth and Students section contains news and information about supporting transgender students in schools including guidance on being a good ally. It is also a good place to go for an overview of trans issues, as well as a rundown of trans rights.
Project on Student Debt (The Institute for College Access and Success)
The Project on Student Debt is an initiative of the Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit independent research and policy organization dedicated to making college more available and affordable to people of all backgrounds.
Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a non-profit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation.
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans.
Student Loan Justice
StudentloanJustice.Org is a grassroots, citizens organization dedicated to returning standard consumer protections to student loans. The group was started in March, 2005, and has focused primarily on research, media outreach, and grassroots lobbying initiatives.

Policy and Research Institutions

Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative news organization focused on inequality in the U.S. For publications related specifically to issues of democracy, explore the Democracy category.
Congressional Research Service Reports Database
A public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis.
Institutions of Democracy
From the Annenberg Public Policy Center of The University of Pennsylvania.
Pew Research Center
A nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world.