Community Works West

Policy and advocacy initiatives are at the core of making significant changes to the criminal legal system. The 2024 National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) Conference was a great opportunity to showcase this work. Congratulations to a really brilliant group of folks who are leading with collective impact everyday in this area, including Community Works West Works Co-Executive Director, Kyle Magallanes Castillo, Equal Justice USA Sr. Restorative Justice Strategist, Erica Washington, The Ahimsa Collective Programs Director, Sandra Rodriguez, and Research Director at Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Gustavo López. And while not able to attend, Alicia Virani, Director, Criminal Justice Program, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law is an integral part of the coalition. The workshop offered attendees insights into the origins of the first-ever California Restorative Justice Policy Coalition, its base building and legislative strategies, its internal structure and its priorities both on a statewide and national level. Attendees left the workshop with tools, tips and resources to assist them in starting similar coalitions in their own communities as well as a networking opportunity to learn from like-minded RJ practitioners and political strategists. It was a packed room of folks eager to learn how working in coalition with others can expand our collective abilities to create important and lasting change. As a founding member of several long-standing advocacy coalitions, this year, Community Works West has worked on various policy-related activities. Our coalition co-sponsored California AB 60 (Bryan) in 2023, which gives people who have been harmed by a crime the right to be notified about the availability of restorative justice alternatives in their area. It went into effect in January 2024. This year, as a follow up to AB 60, Community Works West is co-sponsoring AB 2833 (the RJ Integrity Act), which will create admissibility protections for what is communicated in a restorative justice process. Confidentiality is at the core of restorative practices and allows participants to open up and share freely with each other to advance healing for all participants. As we aim to keep people away from justice systems and improve outcomes for any who do have contact, we know that our advocacy work plays an important role in both of those goals.

Policy and advocacy initiatives are at the core of making significant changes to the criminal legal system. The 2024 National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) Conference was a great opportunity to showcase this work. Congratulations to a really brilliant group of folks who are leading with collective impact everyday in this area, including Community Works West Works Co-Executive Director, Kyle Magallanes Castillo, Equal Justice USA Sr. Restorative Justice Strategist, Erica Washington, The Ahimsa Collective Programs Director, Sandra Rodriguez, and Research Director at Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Gustavo López. And while not able to attend, Alicia Virani, Director, Criminal Justice Program, University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law is an integral part of the coalition. The workshop offered attendees insights into the origins of the first-ever California Restorative Justice Policy Coalition, its base building and legislative strategies, its internal structure and its priorities both on a statewide and national level. Attendees left the workshop with tools, tips and resources to assist them in starting similar coalitions in their own communities as well as a networking opportunity to learn from like-minded RJ practitioners and political strategists. It was a packed room of folks eager to learn how working in coalition with others can expand our collective abilities to create important and lasting change. As a founding member of several long-standing advocacy coalitions, this year, Community Works West has worked on various policy-related activities. Our coalition co-sponsored California AB 60 (Bryan) in 2023, which gives people who have been harmed by a crime the right to be notified about the availability of restorative justice alternatives in their area. It went into effect in January 2024. This year, as a follow up to AB 60, Community Works West is co-sponsoring AB 2833 (the RJ Integrity Act), which will create admissibility protections for what is communicated in a restorative justice process. Confidentiality is at the core of restorative practices and allows participants to open up and share freely with each other to advance healing for all participants. As we aim to keep people away from justice systems and improve outcomes for any who do have contact, we know that our advocacy work plays an important role in both of those goals.

Our ProjectWHAT! (We’re Here And Talking! aka PW) team of Oscar Calderon Leon, Jakaela Foster and Lhaga Dingpontsawa lead an engaging talk on “Building Better Adult Allies: Understanding and Supporting Children of Incarcerated Parents”. With its theme of seven generations, the 2024 National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ) conference shined a light on youth and young adults by exploring strategies and approaches that prioritize the unique needs, voices and experiences of young individuals within community and restorative justice. Team PW rocked the house and gave workshop participants a fresh perspective on what it means to be an adult ally. Losing connection to a parent due to incarceration is traumatic and considered an Adverse Childhood Experience. A child’s world is disrupted and can move rapidly as well-meaning adults make life-altering decisions, often without consulting them. Suddenly, a child’s housing, school, safety, and family stability can all be in flux at once. The sense of powerlessness, grief, and shame that follow are difficult to manage at any age, especially during adolescence. But, someone who has been through or is going through this same situation can understand. PW is a youth-led leadership development and advocacy program for children of incarcerated parents (CIP) in the Bay Area. CIP are an oft overlooked, under-resourced group in our society despite clearly facing inequitable access to opportunities and myriad challenges that are similar to yet unique from other historically underserved populations of young people, such as foster youth, homeless youth, or dual status youth. Unsurprisingly, CIP-specific programs, too, are rare. PW is one of only three in the entire state of California and is the only such program utilizing a youth-led model. The PW team showed NACRJ participants what it means to amplify youth voices and provided strategies to improve outcomes when working with children of incarcerated parents. Great job Team PW!

Big shout out and congratulations to Community Works West board member Will Roy for his new role as Executive Director of the Bay Area Freedom Collective. Wishing you much success in your role to welcome home formerly incarcerated folks and to help individuals reach their full potential.