Programs
Healing: Retreats & Virtual Circles
A cornerstone of our work, our retreats and virtual circles utilize restorative justice practices, peer support, expressive art therapy, and other trauma-recovery activities to enable individual and collective healing. Both group gatherings offer safe, nurturing, and confidential spaces for people to speak openly about their trauma and loss, provide support and understanding to one another, and learn tools for rebuilding their individual lives and families. Through this program, participants are also trained to become facilitators and leaders of healing and restorative justice in their own communities. We have conducted 14 retreats and 30 virtual circles to date and have directly served more than 150 individuals through these activities.
Healing: Individual Support, Services & Resources
Our individualized support, services, and resources supplement our group healing activities. These include: (i) responding to individual requests for assistance, such as through connecting them with specialized service providers; (ii) training individuals to provide one-on-one peer support to others in need; and (iii) developing online resources through which individuals can seek assistance and support on their own. We have served countless individuals and families through these activities.
Justice: Education, Training & Technical Assistance
This aspect of our work involves public education as well as specialized training and technical assistance (TTA) for criminal justice professionals and social service providers, at both the national and local levels. Through this work, we offer practical policy solutions for addressing systemic injustice and preventing future harm and also raise public awareness. This work also creates opportunities for the individuals we serve to utilize their experiences to participate directly in justice reform and become leaders of change. We regularly conduct public education events and professional trainings, as well as provide a variety of specialized technical assistance upon request. Through these activities, we have assisted thousands of practitioners and service providers, educated countless members of the public, and touched the lives of many through policy reforms.
Justice: Listening Sessions
We create unique opportunities that empower individuals by hosting listening sessions where their voices are heard and restored. These specialized listening sessions are aimed at motivating systemic change where the “listeners,” typically justice officials and policymakers, learn about needed reforms to prevent future harm through hearing from those with lived experiences. These listening sessions also promote individual and collective agency as they serve to lay the foundation for the creation of our programs and services. We have conducted 7 listening sessions to date, in partnership with other key stakeholders including the US Department of Justice.