Earlier this month, I celebrated my one-year anniversary at EJUSA in very special company. I attended a forum with brilliant, inspiring people who are changing their communities—our world—every single day.
I didn’t know until I was there that it was exactly what I needed.
This year has been as hard as it has been amazing. Joining this team and building a new system in which justice heals and repairs instead of punishes and harms is truly an honor. But it’s stressful, demanding work. And I’ll freely admit that I’ve had to navigate some fear and insecurity.
That’s why being in this room on the day marking my first year was thrilling and rejuvenating. I found myself surrounded by bold, creative people doing the on-the-ground work that transforms lives. Leaders who had started their own organizations with just passion and an understanding of what their people needed. Leaders who are survivors — of violence, of prisons and punitive systems — serve their neighbors and make their communities stronger every day.
I left that room with an overwhelming desire to do more, to go deeper into our mission supporting the on-the-ground work. We — the team at EJUSA and you who have invested in our work — have the privilege every day of supporting efforts that make communities safe and help people thrive.
When I say deeper, I simply mean that I want to liberate myself from that fear. I want to boldly call out the systemic racism that hurts all of us. I want to think big and imagine without constraints. I believe we are on the cusp of something momentous. And I want you with us every step of the way.
Our mission commitment begins with a sacred responsibility to support and heal the healers — the folks leading and serving in their community every day.
We’ve never felt more confident in showing the world what a community-based public safety ecosystem looks like…and what it takes to build one.
We feel certain that the body of people able to imagine an entirely different justice system is larger than ever. And that system will abolish forever the idea that executions make us safer, and embrace the understanding that we are safe when communities are empowered and resourced to thrive.
I can’t wait to share our new strategic plan with you soon. I think you will agree that EJUSA’s vision has never been sharper or more fearless.
