By Kayla Victor, Chair Connecting 4 Justice International
After spending more than an hour on the phone with a lab service and my health insurance company, I came to an unexpected realization: the healthcare industry and our criminal justice system have more in common than most people think.
Both systems are filled with people who genuinely want to help. Yet both frequently fail the very individuals they were designed to serve. In most cases, the common denominator is not bad intent — it is policy, bureaucracy, and a breakdown in communication.
When One Word Changes Everything
Why does it take so long to make simple changes that would benefit our communities? Why are people forced to navigate complicated, exhausting systems when many problems could be resolved through clear communication and common sense?
I recently worked alongside more than 40 organizations to help create safer communities in one state. During that process, we identified language in a bill that could have created serious unintended consequences with returning citizens being released from prison without a valid id. A single word change — from “may” to “shall” — would have shifted the entire intent of the legislation and weakened accountability. That one word matters.
The same dynamic surfaced during my healthcare experience. I received a bill for $349.70. According to customer service at the insurance company, I should have owed only $20. Instead, the bill bounced back and forth between the insurance company and the medical provider because a CPT code had not been entered correctly. No one could explain why such a simple fix had become so complicated. It left me asking:
How many of our biggest community frustrations stem not from broken values, but from broken communication?
What if we simply sat down together and talked? Could we solve 95 percent of these problems? Does every issue truly need to become a lengthy bureaucratic ordeal?
A Community Issue, Not a Niche One
I never expected to follow in my mother’s footsteps and spend my career working with families impacted by incarceration. But today, I am proud to stand with those families, with communities, and with people who have committed crimes they are genuinely remorseful for. We often hear that, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. (On a side Note: Civil rights campaigner and feminist writer Rita Mae Brown is the real author of the phrase, Not Einstein) Yet that is exactly what many systems continue to do.
This is not an issue for a select group of people – it is a community issue. If we want safer communities, we must be willing to have honest conversations and pursue practical solutions.
What Healthier Communities Actually Require
The truth is that healthier communities require more than policies and programs. They require communication, collaboration, and accountability. Whether we are talking about healthcare, public safety, corrections, or government, the solution most often begins with bringing people together to solve problems – rather than allowing systems to create new ones.
If we are serious about building safer, healthier communities, we must become better communicators, better listeners, and better collaborators. The people we serve deserve nothing less.
Join Us — Let's Do Something Different
At Connecting 4 Justice International, we are committed to doing exactly that. We are dedicating a portion of our upcoming conference to an UnConference – an open, collaborative space where participants drive the conversation. No panels talking at you. No business as usual. Just real people working toward real solutions.
We refuse to do the same old thing and expect different results.
Crack the Cube: Building Economic Justice
This is your opportunity to be part of a movement that is reimagining justice — economically, socially, and systemically. Whether you are an advocate, a practitioner, a policymaker, a community member, or someone who has been directly impacted, your voice belongs in this room.
Connecting 4 Justice International Annual Conference
September 30 – October 2, 2026
San Antonio, Texas
