Reimagining Justice This Month | July 2020
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism.
What Would Non-police First Responders Look Like?, The Appeal/NowThis News
Police officers can spend as little as 1% of their time responding to violence. They mostly respond to issues related to homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse. So what could community-based, non-police first responders look like?
Community Street Team, Deescalation Training Credited For Newark’s Decreasing Homicide, Violent Crime Rates, CBS New York
EJUSA’s community partners are transforming our neighborhoods by reimagining the ways that we approach community safety. The Newark Community Street Team is advancing violence reduction strategies that are having a huge impact because they address trauma and turn away from over-policing and incarceration.
Community Peacemakers in Chicago Offer a Proven Alternative to Policing, Truthout
These programs prove that there are alternatives to policing that ensure community safety, but their effectiveness relies on listening to and honoring the leadership of those most impacted by violence.
Wolf Administration Releases ‘Trauma-Informed PA’ Plan with Recommendations and Steps for the Commonwealth and Providers to Become Trauma-Informed, Governor Tom Wolfe
Pennsylvania’s governor released a statewide plan for a “Trauma-Informed PA.” This plan would shift the focus away from punitive justice toward healing-centered practices that focus on historical and community trauma, and be implemented across state agencies and state-funded offices.
The case for racism response funds — A collective response to racist acts, The Appeal
Punitive responses to racism do not do nearly enough to prevent further harm. Approaches like Racism Response Funds would ensure accountability by focusing on healing the individual who has been harmed and dismantling the systems that allowed that harm in the first place.
