Impact Justice

While prison food in many countries is cheap, bland, and repetitive, the United States has some of the worst prison food in the world. Food provided to incarcerated people across the country is inadequate, unhealthy, and at times outright inedible. These highly processed, sugar, fat, and sodium-heavy diets are an added, hidden punishment for people incarcerated in the United States; one that has significant health consequences. Food in prison could promote rehabilitation and support successful reentry - but that requires a new approach to food service that’s grounded in dignity and health rather than punishment and a bottom line. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gdNxJZpw. #WorldFoodDay2024 #foodinprison

Sometimes, a game of flag football means something more. For many members and alums of our California Justice Leaders program, something as simple as playing flag football with friends and colleagues on a beautiful day in the park wasn’t something that seemed possible during their time behind bars; and even after coming home from incarceration, their contact with the criminal legal system was too often a barrier to fulfilling employment and other opportunities. With support from the National Football League (NFL) Foundation, Impact Justice’s California Justice Leaders program flips that script, recruiting people because of their life experiences, not in spite of them. In partnership with AmeriCorps, the program enlists formerly incarcerated and system-impacted people — like Jason, Darrell, and Dee — to provide reentry coaching and mentorship to justice-involved youth and young adults who are facing many of the same challenges they once did, cultivating leaders who uplift entire communities. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/g7Uia-BZ!?

“It is normal for youth to change their decisions about what or who they want to become.” Our California Justice Leaders are credible messengers - not just for their own communities, but for the wider world. California Justice Leaders Alum Sergio Coronel knows firsthand the power of the stories we tell ourselves and others, and his newest piece in @witnessla provides a powerful counterpoint to the use of prison gang labels for children and young people in confinement.

Catch California Justice Leaders Alum Jose Santana on LAist’s Imperfect Paradise podcast! Jose joins LAist Correspondent Frank Stoltze in a powerful conversation about progressive prosecution from the perspective of someone resentenced as a direct result of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s policies.

Who's up for a Saturday night movie?! Our documentary short "Building Justice: A Journey to Finland" is now available for online viewing as an official selection of the 2024 Awareness Festival. Grab your virtual tickets at the link below - available through November 15th! https://lnkd.in/gF-jgaeX

“Learn who you are, and learn who you see yourself as.” Darrell is just one example of a California Justice Leader alum who is turning some of his most difficult personal experiences into strengths in order to support justice-involved youth and young adults in his community. When we invest in #LeadersLikeUs, we’re also investing in safer and stronger communities. Learn more about our California Justice Leaders partnership with AmeriCorps and California Volunteers at https://lnkd.in/g7Uia-BZ. #YJAM2024 #OJJDPTurns50

While much of the nation’s focus is on the West Coast’s struggle with homelessness, Florida is leveraging the recent SCOTUS ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson to push some of the country’s toughest anti-homelessness policies. The Homecoming Project makes it possible to choose kindness over cruelty. Learn more about our work to match people leaving prison who are at risk of becoming homeless with community members who have a spare room and an open heart at https://lnkd.in/gZB4R6wp. #WorldHomelessDay

A prison to homelessness pipeline leaves formerly incarcerated people 10x more likely to become homeless and face further criminalization than the general population - and since the SCOTUS ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, those odds have only gotten worse. This isn’t our only path forward. The Homecoming Project matches people leaving prison who are at risk of becoming homeless with people in the community who have a spare room and an open heart. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gZB4R6wp. #WorldHomelessDay

“We have that hustle in us.” Young people impacted by our criminal legal system are best positioned to create the solutions we all need. Our California Justice Leaders program is a first-of-it’s kind partnership with AmeriCorps and California Volunteers that recruits system-impacted young adults for @americorps service years, and provides them with the training and resources they need to open doors for their communities and for themselves. In celebration of Youth Justice Action Month, hear from alumni Jason about how our California Justice Leaders are leveraging their inner hustle to create transformational change, and learn more about supporting #LeadersLikeUs at https://lnkd.in/g7Uia-BZ. #YJAM2024 #OJJDPTurns50

People in prison have good ideas. Let’s bring them to life. Today, Impact Justice and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) are thrilled to announce the launch of the Inside Impact Fund, a first-of-its-kind, responsive grantmaking initiative to equip incarcerated people across California with the resources they need to help them develop and lead activities, events, and other initiatives that advance their wellbeing. Through small-scale grants distributed in direct response to proposals from incarcerated people, we’re not only moving resources from the free world into prison; we’re making visible the ideas, talents, energy, and accomplishments of incarcerated people at large. Hear from our Grants Council - a coalition of formerly incarcerated leaders - about why this fund is so important, and learn more/support the Fund at insideimpactfund.org!