The Spark of Hudson Sponsors 1st Recipient of Mental Health Court’s PETE Scholarship

photo credit: Daniel Brady/NYcourts.gov

On International Women’s Day, The Spark of Hudson is especially proud to announce our sponsorship of the Peer Education, Training & Employment (PETE) Scholarship that was conceived and facilitated by a female judge, with the first award received by a woman. While PETE is not exclusively intended for women, it is already investing in better outcomes for the women of Columbia County. 

The PETE Program is a key component of Hudson City’s Mental Health Court, presided  by Judge Cheryl Roberts in collaboration with Mayor Kamal Johnson’s administration and authorized by NYS Court of Admission in October 2022.

The City of Hudson’s Mental Health Court has a current cohort of 35 participants. Yesterday, Judge Roberts awarded the inaugural PETE Scholarship to the cohort’s first graduate, Shae O. Jones. 

Conceived by Hudson City Court Judge Cheryl Roberts, the PETE Scholarship pays recipients to train to become certified Peer Advocates, then guarantees them a full-time salary for up to a year if they agree to work as a Peer in Columbia County after training is complete.

The PETE scholarship was made possible by The Spark of Hudson in partnership with The Eutopia Foundation, with in-kind services provided by Twin Counties Recovery Services and additional support from The Francis J. Greenburger Foundation.

“We are proud to fund this innovative program here in Hudson, New York. The PETE Program gives scholarship recipients a purpose, puts their lived experience to good use and benefits the whole community by making it safer and healthier for everyone.” said Susan Danziger, Founder of The Spark of Hudson and Eutopia Foundation. “In championing this program, we hope to provide replicable models that can be learned from and adopted in courts around the country.”

As shared by Judge Roberts in her interview with WAMC:

“I cannot thank enough The Spark of Hudson, Twin County, and Greener Pathways for their partnership in the PETE Program. Without them the PETE Program would never have gotten off the ground.” Judge Roberts said. “And, congratulations to Shae Jones, I look forward to seeing her at court soon as a Peer Advocate.”

Here is more information about Mental Health Court from the interview:

Mental health court is characterized as a "problem-solving court" by the New York State Unified Court System, meaning it helps judges and court staff better respond to the underlying issues that bring people into the court system, and employ innovative approaches to address them. City Judge Cheryl Roberts says a mental health court in Columbia County was long overdue.

"65% of our docket in Hudson City Court involves people with known or suspected mental illness or substance use disorder, and at least half the people incarcerated across the country have mental illness," Roberts said. "And when you're talking about women, it can be much higher. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, not just in Hudson, but across the country. And the best solution, you know, would be for them not to enter the criminal justice system. But once they are, then yes, mental health courts or problem solving courts, as they're known, provide at least an exit ramp for them out of the system, and into the mental health system, which is where they belonged in the first place."

Listen to the full story on WAMC North East Public Radio here.