In preparation for the 2019 Nehemiah Assembly, Justice Network Members and clergy from all participating congregations will gather for the 2019 Solutions Briefing on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. 

We will hear testimonies from people impacted by our issue areas, share our plans to address them, and sort out logistics for the Nehemiah Assembly, and hand out materials. Our active issue areas include: 

• Overcrowding at the Douglas County Jail: Four years ago, the Douglas County Jail population spiked for no apparent reason. Our jail is now overcrowded, and now Douglas County Commissioners are poised to use tax dollars to fund a massive jail expansion--without understanding why our jail population has exploded. We want to address the recent spike in jail population through safe and effective alternatives to incarceration.
• Counter-Productive Disciplinary Practices in Schools: African-American kids in Lawrence Public Schools are twice as likely to be suspended out of school, and half as likely to be in a gifted class as their white peers. Out-of-school suspensions lead to higher risk of dropping out of school, which leads to higher chances of incarceration.This phenomenon is known as the “school to prison pipeline”.

Please check in with your Team Leader or staff to RSVP.