Transformative Justice Center
The Transformative Justice Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that focuses on educating the public about the shared intention to treat all people, regardless of past choices and actions, humanely, with a focus on seeing everyone’s core, good, wise self. Our center is built on empathy and understanding, educating the public on our prison system and those within it. The Transformative Justice Center serves as a vital space for hope and healing, recognizing the talents, struggles, and potential for transformation among the incarcerated.
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore an arts and crafts gallery featuring works made by currently incarcerated folks; a library of criminal justice focused books and essays written by incarcerated men and women, organized by thematic topics related to their lived experiences; a living-room-style space to watch hundreds of videos of incarcerated people sharing their stories; and a room designed to replicate a real 6x9 prison cell and cell block, complete with immersive soundscapes that evoke the prison environment.
The center is also home to the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Empathy in Action: Bridge to Redemption. Empathy in Action brings incarcerated (“inside”) and non-incarcerated (“outside”) people together for transformative and profound dialogue.
Join us on this journey towards healing, change, and rebuilding lives.
Mission, Vision, Values
Our mission is to advocate for transformative justice, emphasizing empathy and understanding as we work with those incarcerated. We aim to break down the barriers of social stigma, creating a platform for personal growth and change. At the Transformative Justice Center, we see past the person’s history and focus on their potential. At its core, transformative justice works to transform relationships, institutions and systems historically founded in oppression, marginalization, and violence into ones grounded in restoration, respect, and responsibility.
We believe that everyone deserves a chance to be seen, heard, and understood regardless of background, race, class, socio-economic status, political or/and religious views. We know that most if not all people in prison come from painful, traumatic backgrounds, from victims to victimizers. We work to transform prison spaces into places focused on higher education, healing, whole body wellness, accountability and respect. We see that within every human being there exists the possibility to grow, to change, and to transform with the right tools and interventions. We are committed to building bridges being the public and our incarcerated community in order to learn, understand and humanize those most impacted by familial and societal harms.