No prison problems. Only community problems.
“Prisons and prison populations are a reflection of what takes place outside of the prisons. The direct relationship constitutes the basis by which we propose that there are no prison problems, only community problems. Once we begin to address community problems, prison problems will also be addressed.” — Eddie Ellis
Flip the starting point.
Criminal justice focuses on things like building newer, ‘nicer,’ jails, ‘better’ police trainings, ending cash bail, raising the age, etc. Human Justice focuses on improving the conditions of communities destroyed by mass incarceration. Criminal justice directs resources to systems reform. Human Justice directs resources to people and to the repairing and healing of communities.
- Rebuilds the neighborhoods prisons emptied
- Funds guaranteed income, housing and healthcare
- Directs resources to people and places
- Starts from the human
- Measures safety in resources
The safest neighborhoods don’t have the most police. They have the most resources.
Three truths that shape everything we build.
We know that the safest neighborhoods don’t have the most police. They have the most resources.
We know that mass incarceration caused divestment of people, money, and opportunity from specific neighborhoods in NYC.
We know that true safety and accountability comes by rebuilding neighborhoods destroyed by the prison industrial complex.
Human Justice = Human Rights + Human Development
Human Rights
We rebuild by providing Human Rights such as guaranteed income, housing, healthcare, childcare, food, transportation, and all of the things every one of us needs to survive and live well.
Human Development
We rebuild by providing Human Development opportunities such as land ownership, community-led education and training on history, politics, land stewardship, pathways to home ownership, and cooperative business development.
Human Justice
With Human Rights secured and Human Development activated, our communities can unlearn and reject the hegemony of white supremacy, racial capitalism, patriarchy and heteronormativity. Our communities can thrive, build generational wealth and health, achieve autonomy and self-determination and make Human Justice a reality.
We specialize in shifting away from criminal justice as a framework and implementing Human Justice as a framework through provision of Human Rights, creation of Human Development opportunities, participatory research design, policy development, community organizing and training, and advising governments and philanthropies on Human Justice resource distribution and grantmaking.
Read our historyWe will never achieve justice if the starting point is criminal.