Our Guiding Principles
SURVIVOR-CENTERED Responses to violence
Crime survivors should be at the center of any conversation about violence. When survivors are at the center, they are pragmatic and clear—and what they ask for is not always what people might expect.
ACCOUNTABILTY -BASED RESPONSES TO VIOLENCE
Accountability isn’t just moral. It’s practical. Meaningful accountability can reduce violence in ways punishment cannot.
SAFETY-DRIVEN RESPONSES TO VIOLENCE
Communities deserve safety. When prisons fail to deliver on their promise to keep everyone safe, it is time to develop solutions that will succeed.
RACIALLY EQUITABLE RESPONSES TO VIOLENCE
Racial inequity drives violence. That means that any strategy to advance safety must advance equity as well.
OUR MISSION
Common Justice develops and advances solutions to violence that transform the lives of those harmed and foster racial equity without relying on incarceration. Locally, we operate the first alternative-to-incarceration and victim-service program in the United States that focuses on violent felonies in the adult courts. Nationally, we leverage the lessons from our direct service to transform the justice system through partnerships, advocacy, and elevating the experience and power of those most impacted. Rigorous and hopeful, we build practical strategies to hold people accountable for harm, break cycles of violence, and secure safety, healing, and justice for survivors and their communities.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
Common Justice is growing with the support of our powerful, steadfast community. Your donations can help us to:
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Prove that we can safely address violence without prison.
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Build a field and movement of people committed to helping young men of color and their communities heal from trauma.
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Change our country’s story about violence and what it will take to reduce it.