Impact Justice

Senior Member Crystal Navarro and Alum Devontae Springer repped our California Justice Leaders program at The Office of Youth and Community Restoration's California Youth Justice Summit a couple of weeks ago to share their wisdom and learnings on implementing innovative and transformative youth justice solutions. It was an honor to meet and speak with other community organizations and advocates, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, judges, and other important stakeholders in the fight for better support and resources for justice-impacted young people. We're beyond proud of Crystal, Devontae, and all our members and alums who are showing up for their communities each and every day! ?? Learn more about our California Justice Leaders program (now accepting applications for our 2025 cohort!) at https://lnkd.in/g7Uia-BZ.

This #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth, here are 6 things you need to know about the criminalization of Native people in the United States: ?? Government data publications breaking down incarcerated populations by race or ethnicity often omit Native people, or obscure them unhelpfully in a meaningless “Other” category. ?? The latest incarceration data, however shows that American Indian and Alaska Native people have high rates of incarceration in both jails and prisons as compared with other racial and ethnic groups. ?? In jails, Native people had more than double the incarceration rate of white people, and in prisons this disparity was even greater. Native women are particularly overrepresented. ? For Native youth, centuries of historical trauma often manifest as mental health and substance use issues that go untreated, and can lead to "delinquent" behavior. ? In the juvenile justice system, Native youth confinement rates are second only to those of Black youth; in fact, Native youth incarceration rates exceed those of white, Hispanic, and Asian youth combined. ?? Because of the reach of the federal justice system into tribal territory, many serious crimes can only be prosecuted at the federal level, where Native people are more likely to receive longer federal sentences and less likely to receive the services and support they need. This confusing network of jurisdiction sweeps native people up into federal correctional control in ways that don't apply to other racial and ethnic groups. We need better data collection on the experiences of Native people caught up in our jails and prisons, but it's clear that the legacy of colonization and ongoing disenfranchisement of these communities has created disproportionate impacts in our criminal legal system. ?? YOU can celebrate this month by supporting organizations like NATIVE AMERICAN REENTRY SERVICES and Red Lodge Transition Services, who are uplifting system-impacted Native people every day. Source: Prison Policy Initiative

If you missed our conversation earlier today on women's prisons in Norway and Finland, don't worry - you can still watch the recording here! A huge thank you to guests Andrea James from the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Teresa C. Younger from Ms. Foundation for Women, Terah Lawyer from CROP Organization, and our own Aishatu R. Yusuf, MPA. Ed.D for such a powerful, real, and profoundly hopeful dialogue.

Our experience visiting women’s prisons in Finland was eye-opening. From the fundamental understanding that women end up in prison due to society’s failures, to opportunities that open prisons provide to study, work, and spend time with family, to sauna access as a human right, Finland is doing many things differently. But with only 200 women in prison in the entire country, could Finland lead the way to not incarcerating women at all? We’ll discuss: - How Finland’s fundamental understanding of why women end up in prison impacts the structure and experience of incarceration - Our conversations with women incarcerated in Finland’s closed and open prisons and what we learned from them - Finland’s potential to address the root causes of incarceration and respond differently, and opportunities in the US to provide support and resources in community

We're beyond grateful to Michelson 20MM Foundation for this incredible support, which will enable us to leverage our existing mentorship training program for system-impacted individuals (California Justice Leaders) to help juveniles with serious criminal charges access higher education across California. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gMfJFX47

Nordic prisons — particularly the now-famous “open prison” model — are often seen as the gold standard for a more humane criminal legal approach. This is especially true for women’s prisons. But in order to understand women’s prisons in Finland and Norway?—?and their implications in the United States —?we need to go beyond the prisons themselves, to understand what cultural and policy choices created this reality. The past week has made absolutely clear that Black women are disproportionately carrying and pushing change movements forward in this country. Tomorrow, we'll hear from four incredible women who are leading the work to transform our criminal legal systems in a powerful dialogue on the Nordic model, what we’ve learned from our visits to these prisons, and how to build a better future here at home. It’s not too late to register! https://lnkd.in/gvkTJkRN Terah Lawyer CROP Organization Andrea James Teresa C. Younger Ms. Foundation for Women Aishatu R. Yusuf, MPA. Ed.D

Did you know that there are nearly 110,000 veterans behind bars? This #VeteransDay, here are a few things you need to know about the experiences of veterans in our criminal legal system: 2??? Veterans are twice as likely as nonveterans to face incarceration; in fact, nearly a third of veterans have been arrested at least once in their lives. ?? There is a clear connection between combat duty and later incarceration, particularly for those who have PTSD; veterans with PTSD are about 60 percent more likely to be incarcerated than those without it. ?? Veterans with traumatic brain injuries - a hallmark injury of the post-9/11 wars - are similarly more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system. ? Today, there are more than 600 veterans treatment courts across the country, but not all veterans who become involved in the justice system go through these courts. As a country, and particularly in our criminal legal system, we are still leaving too many veterans behind; but fortunately, there are many great organizations working hard to turn that around -- including Veterans Healing Veterans from the Inside Out and Wiley's Wish Animal Rescue. Follow and support their work, today and every day!

For many who have visited women’s prisons in Finland and Norway, the experience was eye-opening. Nordic countries have a fundamentally different understanding of — as well as policy and practical response to — the root causes of women’s incarceration. But with only 200 women in prison in Finland, what can we in the United States — where nearly 200,000 women and girls are behind bars — learn and attempt in our own country? On November 12th, join?our Vice President of Innovation Programs Aishatu Yusuf in conversation with?CROP Organization's Terah Lawyer,?Ms. Foundation for Women's Teresa C. Younger, and Andrea James from?the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls for Episode 2 of our reflection series on the Nordic prison system and social welfare approach to public safety. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gvkTJkRN

If you missed last month’s webinar, you won’t want to miss this clip: Shimica Gaskins from End Child Poverty?lays out how Finland’s investment in children and families is directly tied to the country’s low incarceration rates and social welfare approach to public safety. Finland and other Nordic countries are seen as the global standard for a humane legal system, but here’s the crazy part: just a few decades ago, the Finnish system looked VERY different. Finland and their counterparts have taken specific policy actions that we can learn from here in the States. Be sure to register for Episode 2 on November 12th! https://lnkd.in/gvkTJkRN

Help us spread the word: applications for our California Justice Leaders 2025 cohort are officially OPEN! Our partnership with AmeriCorps trains and employs system-impacted young people as reentry navigators to help other community members on similar journeys. Learn more and apply to become a California Justice Leader TODAY at https://lnkd.in/eqVCRh23.