We have learned so much from our anchor organization Dignity And Power Now, a “Los Angeles based grassroots organization founded in 2012 that fights for the dignity and power of all incarcerated people, their families, and communities” and are so thrilled to have been able to collaborate on a Healing Justice Toolkit with DPN. The guide was written by DPN, edited by Thandisizwe Chimurenga, translated into Spanish by delia ayala, and designed by Design Action Collective.

Here is an excerpt from DPN Health and Wellness Director Guadalupe Chavez:

Healing requires that we pay attention to the whole body, this includes the emotional, spiritual, and psychological bodies. Today we are launching a Healing Justice Toolkit that outlines the past seven years of DPN’s Healing Justice work. This toolkit is a communal offering that joins the lineage of healing justice work that communities across the world have engaged in for survival, strategy, liberation, and assurance to future generations. It is important to acknowledge that there has been generations of work done throughout the U.S. and internationally that has fed this current iteration of liberation work, which we call Healing Justice. Healing Justice’s birth story is ancient, and I want to honor the past twenty years of work being led by organizers in the South, including organizations like Kindred, SONG, and the work of Cara Page, Susan Rafo, Adela Nieves, and many more.

And, in an interview on blavity.com with Patrisse Cullors, "How Healing Justice for Survivors of State Violence Can Help Mend Our Communities and Sustain Our Movements", our Executive Director Cat Brooks said:

Healing Justice is an integral element of our collective journey towards liberation. It is extremely traumatic to be Black, Brown or Indigenous in this country and we carry that trauma on our backs through the daily functions of our lives.

As the movement against state violence continues to grow, there is a need to heal the trauma that state violence creates in our communities. The toolkit outlines the principles of healing justice, offers guidance to organizers who act as healing justice first responders following an act of police brutality, and provides a list of healing justice practitioners. The toolkit will serve as a comprehensive guide for criminal justice advocates across the United States to adopt in their communities. As part of the launch of this toolkit, Dignity and Power Now and Justice Teams Network will organize healing justice trainings in Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Sacramento and Oakland in the coming months.

If you want to connect with us about trainings or getting a physical copy of the guide, please contact Guadalupe at guadalupec@dignityandpowernow.org or Annie at annie@justiceteams.org. 

Read DPN’s blog post about healing justice and the toolkit here!