About
Welcome to the Institute for Community Justice! We are a Philadelphia-based initiative committed to community justice: the community-inspired, community-led solutions for healing in a time of mass imprisonment.
The Institute for Community Justice was founded as part of Philadelphia FIGHT’s commitment to reduce not only the number of people in prison living with HIV, but also the lasting effects of mass imprisonment on communities most affected.
We know that two-thirds of people will be arrested within three years of their release from prison. This statistic has driven a national and local focus on reentry programs to address the barriers people face after imprisonment. What has been less emphasized is the one-third of people who are not rearrested after their release. Who are they? In our experience, they are community leaders who have set their hands to changing the systems they once found inescapable, and to rebuilding their communities so that the next generation might be able to imagine a future beyond mass imprisonment.
By centering the wisdom and experiences of formerly imprisoned community leaders, the Institute for Community Justice works to amplify existing efforts to build safe and vibrant communities, push for needed policy change, and realize our vision for community-led transformative justice.
Our work is organized around three core projects:
At our Reentry Organizing Center, formerly imprisoned city residents can connect with these projects, and work personally with the Institute mentoring team to promote their own self care, political engagement and mutual empowerment.
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