(October 7, 2024) — Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced today that it will partner with four new communities to build new restorative justice diversion programs. These programs serve as an offramp for youth, protecting them from the harsh punishment of the criminal legal system while still creating an accountability process that identifies root causes and provides an opportunity for healing both for the person harmed and the person who has caused harm.
“Restorative justice is an essential pillar of the growing movement toward community-led public safety solutions and away from the failings of policing, prosecutions, and prisons,” said Jamila Hodge, CEO of Equal Justice USA. “We will never punish our way to safety, but the healing that restorative justice offers does chart the path to safety and well-being.”
The organizations in this Restorative Justice Diversion Roots Cohort are located in Hinds County, MS; Richmond, VA; Oakland County, MI; and Pulaski County, AR. EJUSA will provide training and technical support to these organizations as they build out their programs over the coming year and begin to work directly with young people and those impacted by harm in the community.
“Developing partnerships in these four communities allows us to expand our restorative justice diversion work in the Southern and Midwestern regions of the country– areas that will strengthen the national representation of our Restorative Justice Diversion Collaborative and tend to the areas of our country experiencing the heaviest resurgence of tough-on-crime backslides,” said Cymone Fuller, Senior Restorative Justice Director at EJUSA. “We are excited about all of the possibilities ahead with these new partnerships and are grateful for the opportunity to advance pathways to meaningful healing and accountability for more communities.”
For the next 10 months, members of the local organizations and their legal system referral partners will come together with support from EJUSA to develop their programs and participate in training opportunities that will prepare them for program implementation. These four communities join the existing 10 that EJUSA’s Restorative Justice Project is already working with, located in cities and counties in California, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
Please direct any media inquiries to Jon Crane, 203-982-4575, joncrane@criticalpr.com
