Adler University’s Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice (IPSSJ) has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Healthy Communities Foundation to support holistic organizational wellness initiatives with the Community Restorative Justice (RJ) Hubs.
The RJ Hubs are comprised of twelve community-based organizations throughout Chicago. These hubs are critical in offering trauma-informed alternatives to incarceration for youth and emerging adults in Chicago communities most affected by mass incarceration. The Community Restorative Justice Hubs recognize that transformation is achieved when communities have the resources and capacity to resolve crime and conflict without the use of costly confinement and mass incarceration. By addressing root causes of trauma, and facilitating nurturing environments for youth, the Restorative Justice Hubs network is building stronger, healthier communities.
Adler University’s Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice strives to meet public safety challenges with socially just solutions. Rather than relying on safety strategies that confine and isolate individuals, IPSSJ develops alternatives that restore people, families, and neighborhoods. Through support from the Healthy Communities Foundation, and in partnership with Dr. Darlene Perry of P&S Evolutions, IPSSJ provides a holistic organizational wellness initiative that offers critical trauma-informed and mental health support for Chicago community members, youth, and staff who are on the front lines of violence in their communities.
Healthy Communities Foundation is a health conversion foundation that seeks to measurably improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities in its 27 zip-code service area located in the City of Chicago and western suburbs of Cook County, Illinois. Using health equity as an overarching principle and lens, the Foundation funds organizations that serve its legacy service area and zip codes with the greatest health inequities.
“Through their efforts to convene, support and increase the capacity of Community Restorative Justice Hubs, Adler University’s Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice recognizes the important role of comprehensive trauma-informed support for Chicago’s youth and families during this moment,” said Nora Garcia, Healthy Communities Foundation Director of Programs. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Adler University as we work towards an equitable recovery for residents in our service region.”
Adler University is honored to receive this grant from the Healthy Communities Foundation. Adler knows that promoting peace, safety and connection in the Chicago community is essential to advancing our social justice mission. Through this grant, Adler University will continue to serve disenfranchised and marginalized Chicagoans for years to come.