Over the last four years, Justice Matters has started a dialogue about the very nature of certain systems in our city.
We yearn for systems that heal and restore. And we have grown weary of those systems that lean toward punishment and exclusion:
- With a mental health system that transports the sick to other cities or allows those who are sick to end up in jails, ERs, homeless, and in shelters, we call for treatment.
- With a jail that has increasingly locked up people at a rate three times the general population, we call for deep understanding and reform.
- With public schools where brown and black children are suspended three times their white counterparts, we call for alternative discipline practices that restore and keep kids in schools.
We invite community members to join in a discussion to explore "Restorative Justice".
This community discussion is designed to build relationships and grassroots understanding of what a "Restorative Community" in Douglas County, Kansas could look like. Please join us. If you have questions, call: Ben (785) 218-0941.