Honoring Reuben Jones, executive director of Frontline Dads, for his dedicated leadership in promoting public safety and justice reform in Philadelphia

WHEREAS, Reuben Jones currently is the Executive Director of Frontline Dads Inc, a community-based organization that was founded in 2001 and provides services for youth and their families throughout Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. Since its founding, Frontline Dads has provided services to more than 5,000 youth and families in some of the most high-risk neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Through its mentoring program, the organization has reduced juvenile recidivism rates, reduced school truancy, reduced school dropout rates, reduced school suspension rates, and increased school attendance, improved grades, increased social and cultural awareness, and improved self-esteem; and

WHEREAS, When he was younger, Jones served 15 years in prison for a 1986 robbery and was released in 2002. Since that time, he has been able to redirect his life and has used this to help others. In 2009 Jones obtained his master’s degree from Lincoln University, and became a clinical therapist specializing in trauma treatment, anger management, and cognitive restructuring; and

WHEREAS, Starting in 2013, Jones served as the Social Services Director for the Focused Deterrence gun violence reduction strategy, which was credited for significantly reducing gun violence at time that homicides reached a 50-year low in the City; and

WHEREAS, His advocacy work has included “Ban The Box," bail reform, voting rights for returning citizens, resentencing of juvenile lifers, decarceration, and prosecutorial accountability; and

WHEREAS, Jones has received numerous awards for his work, including the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Obama in 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles “Community Quarterback” Award, the Lucien Blackwell Guiding Light Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Involvement Award from the University of Pennsylvania, and many others; and

WHEREAS, In addition to acting as Executive Director of Frontline Dads, Jones also serves on the Re-Entry Coalition in Philadelphia, and is a member of the No215Jails Coalition. He has previously served on the Mayor's Commission on Universal Pre-K and on Mayor Kenney's Transition Team, on his Public Safety Committee; and

WHEREAS, This varied and compelling body of work has helped countless youth in Philadelphia, and it will continue to reverberate for years to come; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, This Council hereby honors Reuben Jones, executive director of Frontline Dads, for his dedicated leadership in promoting public safety and justice reform in Philadelphia.

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