Health Approaches to Healing Violence: Hospital-Based Programs

]Violence is a public health issue. But few know that there is a small, but significant expansion of health initiatives across the country that are addressing the needs of survivors of crime, violence, and trauma, in the wake of community violence – and helping to actually decrease crime. Philadelphia, a pioneer in trauma-informed models of… Continue reading Health Approaches to Healing Violence: Hospital-Based Programs

EJUSA joins new national dialog on public health and criminal justice

There is a growing interest in reimagining the relationship between the public health and the justice systems. Our coverage of the new report, “Stress on the Streets (SOS): Race, Policing, Health, and Increasing Trust, not Trauma,” last month highlighted innovative ways that public health and criminal justice reform organizations are collaborating to do just that.… Continue reading EJUSA joins new national dialog on public health and criminal justice

Another Year of Impact ‒ Read the report.

As the Chair of the EJUSA Board of Directors, I know all about the difference EJUSA makes in the movement to end the death penalty and transform the justice system. I see it every day. That is why it brings me great pleasure to share with you EJUSA’s 2015 impact report. Click here to read the… Continue reading Another Year of Impact ‒ Read the report.

New resource for how to support someone harmed by crime & violence

The Partnership for Safety and Justice, a criminal justice reform organization in Oregon, just launched a new website, Help.Hope.Heal, for people whose friends or family members have been harmed by crime or violence. The website includes advice and resources to help you learn what to say and do to support your friend and yourself, so that… Continue reading New resource for how to support someone harmed by crime & violence

You’re Invited: VOCA Funding for Your Community, Webinar 11/20

VOCA funding to states for victims services has more than tripled this year. This funding may be available to community organizations like yours. If your group/organization supports and provides services to crime survivors of color and other underserved survivors that otherwise have little or no access to services that address their victimization, then you should… Continue reading You’re Invited: VOCA Funding for Your Community, Webinar 11/20

Trauma-Informed Schools: A Key Strategy for Public Safety

By now, many have heard about the recent incident at Spring Valley High School, where a South Carolina deputy slammed a young African American girl to the ground, dragged her on the floor, and handcuffed her for disobeying school rules. Several videos have gone viral and spurred national dialogue about the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a framework… Continue reading Trauma-Informed Schools: A Key Strategy for Public Safety

Honoring victims, calling for a system that heals

On September 25, in honor of National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims, I spent time reaching out to several family members of murder victims. Some survivors shared the traditions they have developed over the years to mark the day, including visiting burial grounds or viewing commemorative videos and photographs. Others told me that the… Continue reading Honoring victims, calling for a system that heals

An interview with the director of EJUSA’s Trauma Advocacy Initiative

Last month, we introduced you to the expansion of our work to build a better justice system, including two new staff. I had the opportunity to sit down with one of them, Fatimah Loren Muhammad, and learn about her first few weeks, what a “trauma-informed” justice system means, and her vision for this first year.… Continue reading An interview with the director of EJUSA’s Trauma Advocacy Initiative

Addressing trauma to reduce mass incarceration

In an early-May issue of The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin tells the story of one prosecutor’s effortsto combat mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on African Americans. In the story, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm comes to realize that racial disparities exist not only at the incarceration level but also in how the system… Continue reading Addressing trauma to reduce mass incarceration