The Joey Fournier Services
Dedicated to Violence Prevention Education, Victim Support & Public Awareness
Mission and Vision
JFS mission is two-fold: We seek to reduce violent crime through prevention education, and we provide support and advocacy services for victims and their families.
JFS vision is to provide at-risk children with the Second Step program so they develop the pro-social skills they need to lead productive lives.
History
The Joey Fournier Services (JFS) was established by Donna Fournier Cuomo in memory of her 17 year-old brother Joey, a high school student who was murdered on October 26, 1974 while working part-time at a gas station in Lawrence, Massachusetts. JFS provides support to victims of crime. In providing victim assistance, the organization 1) educates victims about their rights under Massachusetts Law, and 2) refers victims for professional counseling to agencies that deal with victim-specific cases such as rape, murder, and domestic violence.
As violence escalates, JFS offers a different approach to the problem. JFS' approach is prevention education. Since 1992, JFS has implemented the nationally acclaimed “Second Step” violence prevention program at elementary schools and community centers throughout Massachusetts.
To meet the urgent need for "productive" after-school activities, JFS developed an after-school program to complement the Second Step school-based curriculum. Our after-school program uses enrichment activities in art, music, and drama to reinforce violence prevention and pro-social skills taught in the school-based program such as empathy skills, impulse control, anger management, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
Who was Joey Fournier
Joey was born Joseph R. Fournier in Lawrence, Massachusetts on July 6, 1957 to Marie and Ronald Fournier. He was their second youngest son. Joey had a younger brother James, an older brother Michael, and two older sisters, Celeste and Donna. A happy and outgoing child, Joey served as an altar boy at Saint Augustine Parish on Tower Hill in Lawrence. As a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout, Joey earned many badges and later played high school football. During the heyday of the great Bobby Orr, Joey became an avid Bruins fan.
As a teenager, Joey really enjoyed his studies in autobody at the Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical School (now known as the Greater Lawrence Technical School). Joey dreamed of one day owning his own autobody shop.
In his senior year, Joey who was seventeen, wanted to buy a car, so he worked a variety of jobs to earn the money he needed. A friend was working at a gas station on Marston Street in Lawrence and told Joey that they were hiring. Sadly, on October 26, 1974, while working part-time at that gas station, three men robbed the station of $250 and murdered Joey, stabbing him nineteen times. The men, all career criminals, were apprehended, convicted, and sentenced to life with no parole.
The Joey Fournier Services, (JFS) was established by Joey’s oldest sister Donna Fournier Cuomo in memory of her seventeen-year-old brother Joey. The mission is two-fold: The organization seeks to reduce violent crime through Second Step violence prevention education programs and provide support and advocacy services for victims and their families.
Founder Donna Fournier Cuomo
Donna is a former North Andover school teacher and was a member of the Massachusetts State House of Representatives, serving the 14th Essex District including Lawrence and North Andover from 1993—1999.
In 1988, Donna founded the Joey Fournier Services (JFS), a non-profit organization devoted to violence prevention, victim advocacy, and support services.
Donna is a certified Second Step trainer by the Committee for Children of Seattle, Washington. She also represented victims of crime on the Criminal History Systems Board from 1990—2009; first appointed by Governor William Weld.
Awards Received
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Heroes Among Us 2006 from the Boston Celtics
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Stop Handgun Violence Leadership Award 1998
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Legislator of the Year Award 1997: Massachusetts Victim and Witness Assistance Board
Current Sponsors
Ash Charitable Corporation
Charles G. Pringle Foundation
Creating a Thriving Lawrence Program Mayor Brian A. De Peña
Josephine Russell Trust
Margaret Collins Charitable Foundation
Contact Joey Fournier Services to Volunteer or Need Additional Information
11 Union Street Lawrence, MA 01840
978-560-9293