A Little Piece of Light
A Little Piece of Light (ALPOL) seeks to empower and facilitate healing for women, girls, and gender-fluid individuals who are directly impacted by trauma and involvement in the criminal justice system. Led by formerly incarcerated and family members of incarcerated individuals, ALPOL mobilizes those that share their collective trauma incited by sexism, racism, violence, poverty, and the criminal justice system. @alittlepieceoflight
Black Women's Blueprint
‘Reclaiming Ourselves and Transforming Harm’ The organization began in 2008 around kitchen tables, at backyard barbecues and in huddles on living room floors, when women and girls of African descent, many of whom were survivors of sexual violence bore witness to each other’s stories of being denied bodily sovereignty and dignity both inside and outside of their communities. It was also in this same political moment of the Obama/Clinton primary election, that Black women were being asked whether we were voting our race or our gender. Both democratic candidates presented their "blueprints" for change but neither took full stock of the particular problems Black women are facing within their communities and in greater society (gender-violence, poverty, the over-criminalization of Black women and girls among others). @BlackWomensBP
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) is a nationwide coalition of State Advisory Groups (SAGs), organizations, individuals, youth, and allies dedicated to preventing children and youth from becoming involved in the courts and upholding the highest standards of care when youth are charged with wrongdoing and enter the justice system. CJJ envisions a nation where fewer children are at risk of delinquency; and if they are at risk or involved with the justice system, they and their families receive every possible opportunity to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives. @4juvjustice
Columbia University Justice Lab’s Youth Justice Initiative
As the country’s youth incarceration rate has declined in recent years, there is now a growing movement to end the use of a punitive youth prison model in favor of a more community-centered approach. Nationwide, research and practice are demonstrating that it is possible to keep youth in their own homes and communities, with the support of their families, all while promoting safety, fairness, and accountability on all sides. Over time, the Justice Lab will accelerate this transformation through a multi-pronged initiative. @CUJusticeLab
Echoes of Incarceration
is an award-winning documentary initiative produced by youth who are directly impacted by the criminal justice system. The project provides hands-on video production and advocacy training for young adults and creates documentaries and video journalism pieces told from the life experiences of the filmmakers themselves.
Georgetown Law’s Initiative on Gender, Justice and Opportunity
The Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Initiative on Gender Justice & Opportunity’s mission is to center marginalized girls in research, policy, and practice; to name and address the root causes of race and gender disparities; and to develop solutions that are guided by youths’ narratives and voices. @GtownLawPovCntr
Girls for Gender Equity
Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is an intergenerational organization committed to the physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women. GGE centers Black girls and TGNC youth in policy and advocacy, direct service and culture-change work to achieve gender & racial justice. Through education, organizing and physical fitness, GGE encourages communities to remove barriers and create opportunities for girls and women to live self-determined lives. @GGENYC
GoodKidsMadCity
Black and Brown youth in Chicago united in fighting to end violence in our cities. GKMC-E develops young leaders to advocate for resources that will allow them to create sustainable, livable community conditions as well as provide tools to address both mental and physical trauma. The vision is to create a thriving, sustainable, and livable community that is fully resourced to address the needs of the community and is driven by the work, vision, voice, and experiences of the young people.
Higher Education in Prison
"Changing the system of what criminal justice looks like"
Hudson Link was founded in 1998 and is the only 501(c)3 non-profit in the US run by formerly incarcerated individuals to provide college degree-granting programs inside prisons. Our staff consists of more than 70% formerly incarcerated men and women who dedicate their lives to giving people like themselves a second chance.
I AM WHY I Am Why brings young women and gender expansive activists together with researchers and other partners to increase young activists’ individual and collective power. By celebrating their strengths and sharing their stories and visions for justice, young people lead the way to policies, practices and programs that work. @iamwhyjustice
International Juvenile Justice Observatory
The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) is a Belgian Foundation of Public Interest. Since 2002, the IJJO has worked to promote the rights of children and young people who come into contact with justice systems and to encourage the implementation of the international standards which guarantee these rights. @IJJOjustice
JMac For Families
MacForFamilies believes that the child welfare system in New York, or the family regulation system, does not keep children safe. Over-surveillance of families by mandated reporters with implicit racial biases and the criminalization of poverty contribute to high rates of involvement in the family regulation system. Advocacy work focuses on two major goals: To abolish the current reporting and investigative process To redefine "child welfare" to mean ending poverty and holistically supporting families of color.
Justice for Families
Justice for Families (J4F) is a national alliance of local organizations committed to ending the youth incarceration epidemic. J4F is founded and run by parents and families who have experienced the juvenile justice system with their children. J4F works toward two primary goals: 1) to transform how juvenile justice systems operate so that families have voice and power in both how and what decisions are made and 2) move resources away from youth incarceration toward direct investments in the youth, families, and communities most harmed by these policies. @justice4fams
Juvenile In Justice
Juvenile In Justice works with educational institutions and non-profits to better understand and/or explain the needs, policies, strategies, and resources required to facilitate better outcomes for the 53,000+ children in custody every day. Their work humanizes cold statistics by exploring the lifeworlds of children in the system. They are the storytellers. @juvenileinjust
Ladies of Hope Ministries - The LOHM
LOHM’s Epic Vision? End poverty and incarceration of women and girls. Topeka K. Sam founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM) to support women and girls who are impacted by the criminal legal system. While incarcerated, she realized that prison and jail are not conducive to healing and rehabilitation. Upon her release, Topeka made it her mission to create pathways to success for women and girls and advocate for alternatives to incarceration. Hope House NYC is an initiative of The LOHM to empower women by providing a safe housing space, a supportive community of women, mentorship, and guidance for formerly incarcerated women to successfully re-enter life after prison. @thelohm
National Crittenton
National Crittenton’s ‘Channel Your Rage into Action’ initiative provides an invitation to "join the fight for social, political, and economic justice for girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people impacted by chronic adversity, violence, and oppression." The organization envisions a world in which all girls, young women, and gender-expansive young people can achieve their potential and live unapologetic, liberated lives without fear of violence or injustice. @NatlCrittenton
No Kids In Prison
A national campaign that grew out of the Youth First Initiative to end youth incarceration and invest in community-based supports, services and opportunities for youth. They seek to end youth imprisonment entirely by establishing a new national consensus against imprisonment of kids in favor of investments in community programs that can put kids on track to success. They are working to build a critical mass of states to make this shift away from incarceration and towards investing in youth in their communities. @NoKidsInPrison
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) supports local and state efforts to prevent delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system by supporting states, local communities, and tribal jurisdictions in their efforts to develop and implement effective programs for juveniles. OJJDP conducts research and aggregates statistics related to youth in the system. @OJPOJJDP
PACE Center for Girls
PACE Center for Girls is a gender-responsive program serving communities in Florida that aims to prevent girls’ involvement in the juvenile justice system. Pace’s vision is a world where all girls and young women have POWER, in a JUST and EQUITABLE society. The org provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. Pace values all girls and young women, believing each one deserves an opportunity to find her voice, achieve her potential, and celebrate a life defined by responsibility, dignity, serenity, and grace.
Rights4Girls
Rights4Girls advocates for the dignity and rights of young women and girls so that every girl can be safe and live a life free of violence and exploitation. Rights4Girls works to change the narrative and policies that criminalize girls who have been impacted by gender-based violence. They advocate for solutions that provide girls and young women with access to safety, justice and support by centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized girls to ensure that their lives are not only contemplated in mainstream conversations around justice reform and gendered violence, but that their needs are made a priority. @rights4girls
The Institute for Transformative Mentoring
ITM is a professional training program focused on the development of Credible Messengers working in the social services fields throughout New York City. ITM is a semester-long training course that is intended to help Credible Messengers heal and enhance their professional skills so they are better able to help others. ITM is structured as using restorative justice practices and interactive learning to support participants in engaging deeply with the material and each other.
UCLA’s Archiving the Age of Mass Incarceration
This UCLA initiative will digitize and preserve both the oral histories of victims of the violence and all kinds of documents that bear witness to it, from bail receipts to police records to posters used at protests. The intention is that, in addition to serving as a subject of study, it will be a counterpoint to official police and criminal justice statistics. The project is based on UCLA's award-winning Million Dollar Hoods research, led by Bunch Center Director Kelly Lyte Hernandez. Million Dollar Hoods began in 2016 by mapping the human and fiscal cost of mass incarceration in Los Angeles.
Vera’s Initiative to End Girls’ Incarceration
The end of girls’ incarceration in the United States is within reach, and the Vera Institute for Justice is leading a national initiative to make it happen in 10 years. The number of youth in the girls’ side of the juvenile justice system is small, most girls are unjustly locked up to protect their safety or to address unmet needs, and jurisdictions across the country are finally ready to commit to gender-responsive systems change. @verainstitute
Women’s Prison Association
WPA is the nation's first organization for women impacted by incarceration. Their approach is personal. They address the root causes of systems involvement, know the data, and are focused on the needs and nuances of individuals. Believing that women are the experts in their own lives, they partner with women to use our collective voice and experience to drive change that positively impacts families, communities, and society. They envision a society where our reliance on incarceration has been replaced by constructive, community-driven responses. @WPA_NYC
Zero Abuse Project
Zero Abuse Project is an organization committed to transforming institutions in order to effectively prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse in all its forms. Programs are designed to provide cross-disciplinary education and training, advocacy for systemic legal change, guidance for survivor support, and leadership on emerging technologies. Their holistic approach recognizes and addresses the intersecting forms of child maltreatment in connection with child sexual abuse. @ZeroAbuseProj
