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Stopping the chain reaction of violence

Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence — responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Targeting Retaliation: Stopping the chain reaction of gun violence in Paterson, northjersey.com In the aftermath of violence, individuals and communities need safety and healing. The Paterson Healing Collective shows up for…

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street art on orange building

Ecosystem in Action

The night before Thanksgiving, legendary Newark street peacemaker Sharif Amenhotep found himself surrounded by legions of city police officers as they sought to confiscate his mini-bus from his vending area on Branford Place and Broad Street. The incident got particularly dicey when officers appeared to be cutting or doing something to the underside of the…

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Image of graph that shows steep decline of the number of death sentences since 1990

Hope on the Horizon

In a year in which political campaigns and media drove public perception of rising crime to record highs, support for the death penalty in 2022 remains near the lowest it’s been in 50 years. Even among conservatives, support for the death penalty fell five percentage points, despite a barrage of media stoking fear in the…

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Imagining the Possibility of Safety

At the beginning of the summer, our executive director, Jamila Hodge, sat on a panel in a crowded gymnasium in Newark talking about transforming the justice system.  “The system is going to do what it’s going to do,” she said. “It is a machine, and it was built for a purpose, and that was to…

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jane syieda mona bonnita

In Grief, She Took Action

We lost a member of the EJUSA family last week. Bonnita Spikes was a force, a fierce and fearless organizer whose impact on communities across Maryland and beyond is immeasurable. Every time Bonnita told her story, people listened. Her strategic vision, her warmth, and her persistence helped to end the death penalty in Maryland and…

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trauma to trust

What Is Trauma-Informed Policing? 

Six Newark, NJ, residents and five police officers sit in a semi-circle in a local community center. They’re listening as a Black man, mid forties, recounts a tale of being hit in the head by a police officer as a teenager while hanging out with his friends after school. As he finishes his story, he…

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Director's Corner
Jami Hodge in front of camera and mic

Just what I needed

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….

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man and woman looking off camera

Punitive Systems Only Create More Cycles of Trauma

Reimagining Justice This Month: September Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence — responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Alternatives to Police and Prisons: Activists Share How to Better Address Violence, Teen Vogue Justice reimagined is not only possible, it’s already here. Youth leaders in communities…

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man posing for picture with two women holding signs

Victory in NJ

Community members across New Jersey spoke out about funding for violence intervention funding. And they were heard.  Earlier in the year, the governor of New Jersey announced a gun safety plan. However, when the state attorney general released the department budget, funding for hospital-based solutions — solutions that work — was missing. After hearing about…

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woman talking into microphone

The Movement for Public Safety

Some time ago, we hatched an idea for a handful of videos, narrated by Newark residents, that would tell about the city’s strides on public safety. That idea culminated in late June with a 56-page report and a two-day convening that brought together dozens of Newarkers, including the mayor, and policy experts and funders of…

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