FRESH START
Shannon Nordstrom founded two important programs.
From October 2018 to October 2023, I had the honor of serving our community as a Hearing Commissioner and Alternate Judge with the Las Vegas Municipal Court. In 2022, I was appointed Interim Municipal Court Judge in Department 6, a position I held with dedication for five months. During my tenure, I initiated and led two significant programs: Fresh Start Traffic and Fresh Start Specialty Court.
Fresh Start Traffic
Fresh Start Traffic started in early 2019, the first of the two Fresh Start programs, and arose out of a need for a different resolution for individuals with traffic cases who were experiencing homelessness and not able to comply with any of the three options the court then had for them. This voluntary program changed their obligation, now requiring them to get connected with community resources to address their barriers to stable housing and stable income while staying out of trouble and coming to court periodically to report their progress.
Once the participants had stable housing and stable income, they had to maintain it for six months. If at the end of the six months, they were able to maintain their income and housing, their fines and fees were vacated, cases closed, and they were sent off with a Fresh Start. The key to success was that our critical community partners/service providers came to the courtroom when we held the Fresh Start Traffic sessions.
Fresh Start Specialty Court
In 2020, based on the success of the Fresh Start Traffic program, and with the assistance of others necessary to the process, we created a pilot to expand the Fresh Start Traffic program to most of the court’s criminal misdemeanor cases. This pilot started in September and took place initially every other Thursday afternoon with the same community partners and service providers as the Fresh Start Traffic program.
Due to the success of the pilot program and the overwhelming need for this specialized program for individuals experiencing homelessness, the expansion soon became the court’s seventh specialty court, Fresh Start Specialty Court (Fresh Start Court), and met once a week. It did not operate on the traditional specialty court model but instead operated on the model developed for Fresh Start Traffic.
Fresh Start Court addressed all the barriers the participants had to being successful community members, from mental health treatment, substance use treatment, vital documents and medical care, counseling, to housing and employment or disability. Once the participants completed their case plans and achieved stable housing and income, they were eligible for graduation. Upon graduation, their active case(s) with the court were dismissed, and they returned as contributing members of our community, and in many cases reunited with family.
No two paths to graduation were the same. Each treatment/case plan was specific to that particular participant’s barriers and needs. Each transformation was unique and inspiring.
Our Mission Was Clear
These innovative programs were designed to provide crucial support to individuals facing traffic citations or misdemeanor cases who were also experiencing homelessness. Our mission was clear: connect them with the resources needed to break down the barriers that kept them homeless. The results were extraordinary, with participants achieving stable housing, receiving necessary treatment, securing steady income, and rejoining our community as contributing members.
Fresh Start
Shannon Nordstrom founded two important programs.
From October 2018 to October 2023, I had the honor of serving our community as a Hearing Commissioner and Alternate Judge with the Las Vegas Municipal Court. In 2022, I was appointed Interim Municipal Court Judge in Department 6, a position I held with dedication for five months. During my tenure, I initiated and led two significant programs: Fresh Start Traffic and Fresh Start Specialty Court.
Fresh Start Traffic
Fresh Start Traffic started in early 2019, the first of the two Fresh Start programs, and arose out of a need for a different resolution for individuals with traffic cases who were experiencing homelessness and not able to comply with any of the three options the court then had for them. This voluntary program changed their obligation, now requiring them to get connected with community resources to address their barriers to stable housing and stable income while staying out of trouble and coming to court periodically to report their progress.
Once the participants had stable housing and stable income, they had to maintain it for six months. If at the end of the six months, they were able to maintain their income and housing, their fines and fees were vacated, cases closed, and they were sent off with a Fresh Start. The key to success was that our critical community partners/service providers came to the courtroom when we held the Fresh Start Traffic sessions.
Fresh Start Specialty Court
In 2020, based on the success of the Fresh Start Traffic program, and with the assistance of others necessary to the process, we created a pilot to expand the Fresh Start Traffic program to most of the court’s criminal misdemeanor cases. This pilot started in September and took place initially every other Thursday afternoon with the same community partners and service providers as the Fresh Start Traffic program.
Due to the success of the pilot program and the overwhelming need for this specialized program for individuals experiencing homelessness, the expansion soon became the court’s seventh specialty court, Fresh Start Specialty Court (Fresh Start Court), and met once a week. It did not operate on the traditional specialty court model but instead operated on the model developed for Fresh Start Traffic.
Fresh Start Court addressed all the barriers the participants had to being successful community members, from mental health treatment, substance use treatment, vital documents and medical care, counseling, to housing and employment or disability. Once the participants completed their case plans and achieved stable housing and income, they were eligible for graduation. Upon graduation, their active case(s) with the court were dismissed, and they returned as contributing members of our community, and in many cases reunited with family.
No two paths to graduation were the same. Each treatment/case plan was specific to that particular participant’s barriers and needs. Each transformation was unique and inspiring.
Our Mission Was Clear
These innovative programs were designed to provide crucial support to individuals facing traffic citations or misdemeanor cases who were also experiencing homelessness. Our mission was clear: connect them with the resources needed to break down the barriers that kept them homeless. The results were extraordinary, with participants achieving stable housing, receiving necessary treatment, securing steady income, and rejoining our community as contributing members.