About Connecting 4 Justice
Connecting 4 Justice International bridges the gap between systems and communities—strengthening families, empowering individuals, and building a more just society.
We create positive change at Connecting 4 Justice by working with Law Enforcement
Our Activities in Numbers
Purpose of the Conference
Our Mission – To inspire people to unite and make a difference in the carceral systems.
Our Vision – is to cultivate a more empathetic world for anyone impacted by the carceral systems.
Our Goals – To apply a holistic focus by inspiring positive changes in all persons impacted by carceral systems and to provide a safe space for people across all disciplines and backgrounds to share and discuss innovative solutions towards a just carceral system.
“The Ripple Effect” of the Conference
Initiated in 2009 as a project of Community Solutions of El Paso, a nonprofit grassroots organization then providing services to children and families impacted by the criminal justice system since 2001. The parent organization addressed three critical factors preventing success for far too many returning citizens and their families:
Shame, embarrassment and fear silenced the prison family.
Upon leaving prison, most returning citizens (and their loved ones) wanted to bury the entire traumatic experience. Their resulting silence denied the larger community the opportunity to know the outstanding individuals comprising the prison family.
Hiding in shame and fear created an Empathy Gap
A protective shield that impedes, and in many cases prevents successful community reentry and family reintegration for those affected by incarceration. Unknowing community members worked alongside of former prisoners; sat right next to prison family members in their houses of worship; attended school together with a silent barrier preventing community members from ever knowing their circumstances – their pain.
All persons affected by the criminal justice system are traumatized, and we are all affected and most people don’t even know it.
People fear what they don’t know. The inability to personally know prisoners or their loved ones prevents the community from embracing the exceptional intelligence and talents of those directly impacted by incarceration personally and/or professionally.
