Cities across the country are making the jump from simply managing homelessness to ending homelessness. Click here to see how we can do it in Douglas County.

County jails are the front door to mass incarceration. Click here read the Vera Institute of Justice's factsheet on incarceration in Douglas County

COVID-19 has not been kind to our students. Learn about how a restorative re-opening can help keep students in the classroom and out of trouble as we transition to a new normal.

Ending Chronic Homelessness with Built for Zero

At the Justice Matters Action Assembly in May of 2021, Mayor Brad Finkeldei & County Commission Chair Shannon Portillo both answered our call and committed to using the Built for Zero program to end chronic homelessness in Lawrence by January of 2023. The city of Lawrence has an unpreceded opportunity to use millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds to help kickstart Built-for-Zero in Lawrence, which would help us meet the ambitious 2023 goal. Justice Matters is continuing to follow up with the Mayor, County Commissioner, and other key stakeholders who are working together to create a proposal for making Built for Zero work in Lawrence. However, the clock is ticking on our ability to apply for the federal funding, and we may need to take action to prompt key stakeholders to move forward with this proposal. We'll be sending out any updates on our campaign to end homelessness in our weekly newsletters- so if you'd like to keep updated, sign up here. For more information on Built-for-Zero, visit our page on Ending Chronic Homelessness.