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| Mission / Vision / Other Background |
Mission
UNDOING RACISM IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AS EXPERIENCED BY AFRICAN AMERICANS.
Vision
TO PROVIDE A SAFE, AFFIRMING AND UNIQUE COMMUNITY WHEREBY AFRICAN AMERICANS, WITH THE SUPPORT OF THEIR ALLIES, USE SELF-DETERMINATION TO SOLVE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH OR CREATED BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Areas of Focus
COURT SYSTEM
PRISON SYSTEM
PRISONER RE-ENTRY
Background
These beliefs are the foundation of Justice Works!.
Injustices have been, and continue to be, outrageous against African Americans. A huge majority of the crimes that are committed are done so out of desperation and defiance. Historical and current day individual and institutional racism against African Americans contributes directly and indirectly to this desperation and defiance.
However, still, the huge majority of people who have broken the law yearn for a crime-free life. They want to live in a community that is safe for their families. They yearn for a life that is filled with security, peace of mind and self-respect. It is extremely common for prisoners and ex-prisoners to have intensely strong hopes and dreams of giving back to their communities. Yet, the Black “ex-con” is seen as being on the lowest status level in society. All these factors and more contribute to a self-image that is difficult to change even when the person wishes for change. However, celebrating greatness fosters greatness.
The return to crime by some can be due a combination of things including lack of trust, feelings of being on the outside looking in, an overwhelming sense that the problems they face are insurmountable, a lack of hope, and the view that no other options are available to them. Reducing crime means reducing these barriers to success.
Going back to prison does nothing to solve the problems of desperation and defiance that sent them to prison initially. In fact, going to prison makes everything worse.
The model:
Justice Works!'s relationship with a person charged with a crime begins prior to conviction and continues through incarceration and to the time of release from prison. The Court Watch program provides observers throughout the court proceedings. Future plans include providing advocates to assure just treatment through the court system. If the person is convicted, support continues throughout incarceration with a variety of services. Transition support is provided after release from prison where, as part of the Justice Works! community, the person gives and receives support and becomes active in the organization’s activities. The continuous nature of this model makes it unique.
The structure:
The organizational structure is designed to provide accountability to the people for whom the organization was created. It also provides the self-determination since ex-prisoners are in positions of leadership, which will allow them to educate and guide the organization. The Board of Directors is organized with co-chairs where one co-chair is an ex-prisoner. And, more than half of the Board are ex-prisoners and family members of prisoners.
Teams, each operating based on the vision’s underlying beliefs, become the culture within which decisions are made, problems solved and actions taken. The nine teams are organizational coordination, media, prisoner/ex-prisoner support, family and friends, housing, employment/education, the Black Prisoners’ Network, the prison industrial complex and court system accountability. Each team has a co-leader that is an ex-prisoner.
The culture:
Since the Justice Works! culture is committed to being accountable to the people for whom the organization was created, if something isn’t working, the Justice Works! member who is committed to its vision of self-determination would automatically respond with questions about what WOULD be helpful.
Other aspects of the culture are:
Establish a trusting relationship:
When you first meet an incarcerated person, the intent should not be to analyze or evaluate them. Instead, it is important to come to know each other and, if requested, see if there is something that can be done that is helpful to them. Find out what it is they need, not what a cookie-cutter system says they need. Not everyone has the same needs. After mutual trust is built, many options open naturally.
Establish a safe place:
There are almost no safe places for ex-prisoners seeking change as they do their personal self-discovery and personal change work. A really safe place is a place where promises are followed by actions. It is a place of high integrity. A safe place is a place where the individual feels accepted and generally understood. In this place, it is ok to be a “work in progress”. It is a place where they can feel the support of others. It is a place where they are not seen as the “messed up one”, but rather as one of the people receiving and giving support. As they experience the respect of others, they begin to see themselves as respect worthy. When they see themselves differently, their actions follow.
Promote the change from within the person:
Change can be accelerated when a person works in community to address the problems that previously overcame them. This way, the way they see themselves relative to their problems is completely different. And, they can feel the power of combined resources, talents and skill. Hope is now possible.
Justice Works! is the place where the things creating the desperation and defiance are challenged and eventually changed. It is the safe place where personal changes can happen. It is the place where the positive hopes and dreams of the ex-prisoner can be nurtured and celebrated in an action oriented way. It is the place where they are seen and respected as a person rather than just a person with a criminal history. It is a place that recognizes and honors them as being the director of their own journey. To determine ones own areas of need and to seek support for those needs, feels completely different from being the one who is asked to meet the requirements of a pre-determined series of programming steps created by the experts in dysfunction.
Self-determined journey:
With the right support, people can and will succeed in making the positive changes they want for their lives. It feels completely different to know that what you have chosen to do is working, rather than hearing from the expert about your progress in their program and from their eyes. The ex-prisoner may determine that they need professional help, but they seek it based on their choice to seek it. They are encouraged to seek the type of professional help that works best for them. The difference is in who is taking the primary responsibility for the action planning. If the ex-prisoner is taking the lead in determining their journey, they come to the provider of support with an attitude of sincere interest in learning. They also own the results of the learning. The impact of this difference is significant. It is self-determination that is the ultimate healer and teacher.
Help from those who know:
Although we all have things to learn, people who have never been incarcerated must learn about the problems caused by incarceration from those who have had that experience. However, just as there are some people in the non-prisoner world who make better teachers than others, so it is with ex-prisoners. Ex-prisoners with a commitment to the Justice Works! vision, who have the needed prison experiences, who have the respect of their peers and who have the needed integrity are the ones whose expertise we need. THE YARD is the Justice Works! group for ex-prisoners.
SUMMARY:
Justice Works! seeks to provide a safe and unique alternative to what is currently available to African Americans in the criminal justice system.
It is critical to the success of the organization that those involved with the organization be committed to this particular vision because to work towards anything else takes the organization away from the reason that it was created.
To work towards another vision makes this organization just like all the rest that attempt our mission. This does not imply that there is only one way to do things. It does not even imply that this is the only vision that has value. It only means that this organization was specifically created with, and for this vision.
As we work towards our mission, using this vision, we believe that we will have an uncommonly high level of success. To achieve this extremely high level of success is why Justice Works! was created.
Founding Principles
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
August 8, 2003
These principles describe what Justice Works! is. They describe to whom the organization is accountable and why. It is the co-founder?s lifetime responsibility to assure that all people associated with Justice Works! now and in the future are participating because they support these specific principles, and the organization?s mission and vision. People not committed to these principles are respectfully encouraged to find a group that fits better with their viewpoints.
? Justice Works! was created for the sole purpose of addressing the problems that African Americans have with and / or because of the criminal justice system. Any issues beyond this are outside the scope of Justice Works! Justice Works! remains totally accountable to the people for whom it was created. Specifically, that includes African American incarcerated and previously incarcerated people.
? Improving the criminal justice system for African Americans improves the system for all people. Due to this, we have flexibility in how we approach our work. And, due to this, people of all races are invited to participate in the work.
? Justice Works! respects African American incarcerated and previously incarcerated people as the experts on their own experience and needs. Thus, they set the direction on all aspects of their transitioning. As incarcerated and previously incarcerated people identify their needs, the organization works together to satisfy those these. Incarcerated and previously incarcerated people determine whether or not what is created works for them or not.
? Justice Works! is a people based and people driven organization. It will not compromise any of its principles to be approved by or accepted by the system. We will not integrate ourselves with the system to an extent that would cause a loss of credibility with the people to whom we are accountable. If that means doing without certain systems resources, so be it.
? Justice Works! is not a service provider. It is a positive minded community of people coming together as family to give and receive support. And, as with any family, all family members have problems and pain. However, in a healthy family, the most vulnerable members are diligently and consciously protected from issues that will unnecessarily overburden them, distract them from their own intense work or possibly even harm them. So, non-prisoner Justice Works! members will turn as appropriate to other non-prisoner Justice Works! members for the support they rightfully may need. This allows the primary organizational focus to remain on supporting the people for whom the organization was created.
? All members participate to the extent that they are able in the work of the organization.
? The personal culture of Justice Works! is one where all people are teachers and all are students. There is no hierarchy in citizen leadership or in the way work is done. ?Leaders? facilitate the work of the group. Each person has unique knowledge and skills to offer the group. When one person has a lot of knowledge or skills that the group needs, they are free to offer it but that never places them above any other member.
? People of European descent must gain a deep understanding of individual racism, institutional racism and white privilege before assuming any leadership positions. The people that we are accountable to must determine if the person of European descent has reached the appropriate level of understanding.
? Justice Works! will feel like ?love in action? as it accomplishes its mission. This makes the organization a spiritual group because it is love based. However, to be respectful of all people, religious words and ideas will not be associated with the organization. While individuals may share their personal religious perspective, the organization honors and respects all views on religion by associating with all faith based groups equally.
? Work done aims at making immediate concrete improvement in people?s lives. Success is measured by short attainable goals based on a specific issue.
? As opposed to service delivery, Justice Works! gives people a sense of their own power as all members contribute to the work of the organization.
Values
Our values includes:
* We value justice. Justice Works! recognizes that oppression exists which is based on race, sex, class, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation and disability. We oppose oppression and its expression in physical, sexual, psychological and emotional violence, which is used as a means to control others. We believe oppression in all of its forms is destructive and should not be tolerated.
* We value safety. We believe all individuals have a right to emotional and physical safety. We oppose the use of fear, intimidation and violence as a means of control. We emphasize confidentiality. We believe that the safety of communities is directly tied to the underlying contributors to crime which are desperation and defiance. Barriers to success cause desperation and injustices cause defiance. To build safe communities, we work at these underlying causes of crime.
* We value collaboration. We acknowledge that the issue of violence and oppression in all forms demands a comprehensive, coordinated response. We work in collaboration with systems, organizations, community groups and individuals to promote supportive advocacy and education. We believe that violence and oppression will end only when individuals, institutions and society as a whole work together to demand its end.
* We value empowerment. We value each individual's ability to make their own choices and support their journey to freedom. We provide solutions which support the empowerment of individuals to free themselves. We believe in treating all people with respect and dignity.
* We value accountability. We believe in honesty and integrity. We believe people who commit crimes must be held accountable for their behaviors. We also believe that all individuals, institutions and society as a whole must be honest about and held accountable for the harm they do.
Created on 04/30/2004 06:17 PM by justice
Updated on 06/05/2007 12:08 PM by justice
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