We envision a world where violence is rare and every community is safe and healthy. The path to that world demands that we as a nation change the way we think about violence and trauma, about how we meet the needs of survivors, and about how we hold accountable those who cause harm while honoring their dignity.
We believe these issues are fundamental to that understanding.
Healing trauma is critical to ending violence. EJUSA works for a healing approach to justice that centers the needs of those harmed to rebuild their lives—including survivors of color whose pain is often discounted.
We already know what causes violence and how to prevent it. Yet our nation’s primary responses to violence—including over-policing and mass incarceration—often bring more harm to those most impacted by violence. EJUSA works to shift resources towards innovative, health-based solutions that build safe and healthy communities.
Relationships between communities of color and police have long been shaped by mistrust, trauma, and violence. EJUSA works with police departments and community residents to understand and transform that trauma, reduce harm, and imagine new, collaborative approaches to community safety.
There is no response to violence less trauma-informed than killing someone. Executions represent the ultimate failure of a system that targets the most vulnerable people, after a lifetime of neglect. Yet this is exactly what we might expect from a policy rooted in racism.
Racial injustice is at the heart of our nation’s issues with public safety, mass incarceration, and law enforcement. We can reimagine justice only by acknowledging the historical role that racism has played in its creation and settling for nothing less than racial equity.
Unveiling the Roots
Chain Gang All Stars