FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 12, 2020
Contact: Patrick Egan | 718-551-6603 | patricke@ejusa.org
Equal Justice USA awarded $200,000 grant from the Simmons Sister Fund at Texas Women’s Foundation
Grant will Support Ongoing Efforts to Transform Justice System and Break Cycles of Trauma
New York, NY – Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) was awarded a grant of $200,000 from the Simmons Sister Fund at Texas Women’s Foundation to support EJUSA’s ongoing efforts to build a new justice system that breaks cycles of trauma devastating communities of color today and throughout the history of the United States.
With support from the Foundation and other donors, EJUSA will work with community organizations across the country to establish responses to violence centered on healing and restitution. To this end, EJUSA will mobilize and train local leaders, amplify the voices of those impacted by violence, advocate for state and local policy changes, and shift the national narrative on violence, trauma, and race. Recently, this work led to new resources for community-based efforts to reduce gun violence, repeal of the death penalty in Colorado, and increased public funding for local healing and anti-violence organizations delivering services to trauma survivors of color.
“The recent murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis is a call to action for fundamental, transformative change,” said Shari Silberstein, executive director of Equal Justice USA. “Now more than ever, our nation must invest in an affirmative vision of justice that can deliver safety, healing, and equity to all. EJUSA and our national network of partners are grateful for the visionary leadership and support of the Simmons Sister Fund at the Texas Women’s Foundation.”
Texas Women’s Foundation is Transforming Texas for Women and Girls, empowering them to build stronger, more equitable communities. Since 1985, the Foundation has been a trusted leader in advancing social and economic change for women and girls in Texas. One of the world’s largest women’s foundations, the Foundation raises funding from a broad base of donors, including individuals, foundations and corporations. These resources support more than $6.3 million in annual investments that advance economic security and leadership for Texas women and girls through groundbreaking research, advocacy, grants and programs. The Foundation’s statewide research on issues affecting women and girls provides decision-makers and lawmakers with critical data to inform policies, practices and programs in the state. Its grantmaking and innovative programs support solutions that help Texas women and girls thrive. In addition, Texas Women’s Foundation is an acknowledged leader and advocate in the gender lens investing movement and has deployed 100% of its assets – endowments, operating investments and donor-advised funds – in a gendered impact portfolio that yields strong financial returns and social benefits to women and girls. For more information, visit www.txwf.org.
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national organization that works to transform the justice system by ending the death penalty, strengthening programs that help crime survivors rebuild their lives, and promoting trauma-informed responses to violence that save lives and heal communities.
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