Our Approach
Transformative justice looks beyond punishment to focus on why harm happens, what repair actually requires, and how to keep it from happening again. Instead of asking what rule was broken, it asks who was hurt, what they need, and how to make it right.
In practice, that means:
- Centering the people affected by harm, and the people who caused it, instead of leaving decisions to a system
- Addressing root causes like poverty, trauma, and inequity, not just the incident itself
- Building accountability through relationship and support, not exclusion or incarceration
- Trusting communities, not just courts, to build justice together
At TJP, we help young people navigate the criminal punishment system while addressing the underlying issues that led to their involvement in it. We build long-term relationships with them, and anyone they call family. From court advocacy to constitutional rights education to record expungement, we believe young people deserve a real path forward, not a case number.
This framework draws on decades of organizing by Black feminist, queer, and abolitionist thinkers, including Mariame Kaba, generationFive, and countless others working at the intersection of anti-violence and prison abolition. We’re grateful to build on their work.