It’s time to end victim blaming and ensure equitable access to life-changing victim compensation. The Survivors First Act makes access real for ALL survivors. Read more about the bill and hear from Kira Shepherd, our Vice President of Policy and Organizing, in NY Focus 🔗 tinyurl.com/survivorsfirst

VICTORY! The Survivors First Act has passed the NY State Legislature, bringing us closer to a system that puts healing first. The bill removes harmful barriers that have denied victim compensation through survivor-blaming judgments. Thank you to everyone who advocated. Next: Governor Hochul’s desk.

What’s a practice you can do to start changing the narrative on violence? Change your language! Instead of “inmate,” try “person involved in the criminal-legal system” ✅ Instead of “offender,” try “responsible party” ✅ Instead of “victim,” try “harmed party” ✅ Learn more on our Narrative Hub 👇🏽

NYC experienced a 54% decline in gun violence victimization from 2021-2025. A major cause of this decline? Expanded community violence intervention and prevention programs. A new report from CAP highlights what advocates have long known: safety is built through community, not the carceral system.

Last night ,we joined @commonjustice.bsky.social for their Spring Social: Nothing Alone, Everything Together. At a time of uncertainty they created a space to gather around a vision of justice rooted in survivor-defined safety, meaningful accountability, and long-term pathways away from harm!

Punishment and accountability are not the same. Punishment is passive, reactive, often continues harm, and almost always fails to address repair. Accountability is active, ongoing, and includes obligations for repair. Punishment will never solve violence—only accountability can.

Is "doing sorry" harder than "doing time"? Join a conversation with our founder and Executive Director, Danielle Sered and Ghani Songster from @thecfsy.bsky.social about why restorative justice isn't "soft on crime" but a rigorous path to real accountability. 🔗 www.eventbrite.com/e/doing-sorr...

We’re currently at @commonjustice.bsky.social’s “Every Road to Healing: Advancing Brooklyn’s Vision Community-Led Safety” event in downtown Brooklyn. This conversation is about community-led solutions to safety and advancing survivor-centered policy.

📣 Brooklyn, your voice matters now more than ever. With a new mayoral administration shaping the future of NYC, we need to ensure your vision for safety is in the room. Join us for a powerful conversation on building real safety and breaking down new victim compensation reforms. Learn more below 👇🏽

Something else is possible. From David Walker, to Ida B. Wells-Barnett, to Angela Davis, Black activists have advocated for abolition for centuries. At Common Justice, we continue their legacy, showing what real safety, equity, and accountability looks like without relying on incarceration.

Attending the NYSABPRHAL 55th Annual Conference? Join Common Justice VP Kira Shepherd on Feb 14 for the "Reimagining Safety" panel to explore how community-led, trauma-informed solutions and violence prevention and interruption deliver real public safety without relying on incarceration.

Narratives about survivors of violence can be deeply problematic. This Black History Month, we're taking a deep dive into ethical storytelling to reshape narratives about violence so we can challenge harmful stereotypes and put honest, holistic stories about impacted communities at the center. 🧵

Join us virtually TOMORROW at 6 PM to help shape our campaign to advance community-led solutions that transform violence locally in NYC. Register to join 🔗 www.tinyurl.com/janmembershipmeeting

“This is really just a major win for all New Yorkers, but especially for Black and Brown New Yorkers," said Common Justice senior policy manager Tahirih Anthony. Read more about how recent changes to victim compensation have increased access to life-changing resources for countless survivors 🔗

Every month, our Civic Engagement team hosts a meeting for people affected by harm — survivors, people who have caused harm, and family members — to come together, build power, and create real community-led solutions to violence in our neighborhoods that don’t rely on policing and law enforcement.

For too long, we've been fed stories that demonize people who commit violence, conflate Blackness and dangerousness, center certain survivors at the expense of others, and shut down new possibilities. It's time we challenge our assumptions so new solutions can arise. 👇🏽

Roots of Resilience provides critical support for survivors healing in the aftermath of harm, but we need your help to reach our goal. All donations will be matched 2:1 through December 31. Support our work and families in need by giving a gift today 🔗 www.commonjustice.org/donate

Every month, we host monthly meetings for community members to come together and build real community-led solutions. This month, we’re ending the year the way we began it: in community and with gratitude. Celebrate with us at our Holiday Party in NYC ❄️ Visit www.tinyurl.com/cjholiday2025 to RSVP!

Understanding violence starts with understanding the story we tell about it. Our new report explores the ways mainstream outlets and individual media makers can reverse harmful narratives and paint a fuller, more nuanced picture of crime, violence, and safety that is transformative and healing.

Conversations about decarceration must include the impact of mass incarceration on the LGBTQIA+ community. Transgender people are especially at risk - both for contact with the criminal legal system and for harassment and violence once detained. A 🧵:

Applications close TOMORROW 📣 Apply now: commonjustice.org/civicengagem...

TOMORROW: Join us for another Community Workshop, a virtual series where we gather with our broader community, explore the core principles that guide our work, and learn alongside each other as we navigate this moment in our shared history. | Register: secure.everyaction.com/fcxXRn-2A0Wk...

📣 We're accepting applications for our Communities for Safety Collective, a civic engagement and leadership development cohort that builds community power to find solutions to violence by addressing root causes, centering those most impacted, and separating healing from the criminal legal system.

Stories about harm should be told with survivors at the center. Award-winning photographer, curator, and writer Laylah Barrayn joins our Art for Change series to share the tools and techniques she uses to tell honest stories that are rooted in the humanity, dignity, and justice of her subjects.

We did it! Important changes to victim compensation policies in NY have gone into effect this week to make access to life-changing resources fairer and more equitable for all. These changes mark a critical step forward in putting survivors first. A 🧵:

We need solutions to violence that center survivors and accountability, not punishment through incarceration. Community-based solutions to violence, like ours at Common Justice, provide harmed and responsible parties with the resources to repair harm as much as possible.

If prisons don't create true accountability, then what does? Restorative justice. It challenges us to ask: What would it look like to make things as right as possible and open up a path towards repairing the relationship where someone was harmed? Read more about restorative justice circles here 🔗

Did you know? More than two-thirds of people serving life sentences in the United States are Black or Brown, and people of color are more likely to receive long sentences while being less likely to ever be released from them.

🚨 New Yorkers are rallying across from the NY Senate offices to demand passage of the Treatment Court Expansion Act. Watch their testimony: www.nysenate.gov/calendar/pub... #WorldMentalHealthDay #SaferThroughCareTCEA

A reminder as the National Guard is weaponized against more cities: Policing & crime do not go hand in hand. Incarceration rates in every single U.S. state are out of line with the entire world, and this disparity is not explainable by differences in crime or “violent crime.”

"Currently, 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico require survivors to cooperate with law enforcement to get compensation — an obstacle for many Black and brown people who distrust police." Read more about why survivors need increased access to victim compensation to heal after harm 🔗

NEW: Ready to reframe the conversation on justice? Our Narrative Hub is a free digital resource center built by survivors, artists, community leaders, and advocates to shift the conversation about violence and safety. Get access by visiting www.commonjustice.org/narrative-hub 🔗

Ready to build a safer, more just future for you and your community? Apply to our Community for Safety Collective! Applicants must be a NYC resident. This opportunity will provide a stipend upon successful completion, and MetroCards will be provided. Learn more and apply by November 1! 🔗

BREAKING: Another life was lost at Rikers last night, making it the 5th in two weeks and the 12th this year. These tragic deaths are inexcusable and preventable. We cannot accept a system built on harm. It’s past time to #CloseRikers and invest in real safety rooted in accountability and dignity.

From @americanprogress.bsky.social and @commonjustice.bsky.social ... A state-by-state analysis of victim compensation statutes reveals tremendous potential for states to better meet the needs of survivors of violence and to ultimately break cycles of harm.

Millions of people every year are victims of violent crime, leading to disability, trauma, and unplanned expenses as a result. New analysis with @americanprogress.bsky.social shows how each state can improve victim compensation to reduce harm & stop cycles of violence in your community:

NEW: Join Common Justice and @americanprogress.bsky.social to learn how our new State Victim Compensation Statute Rubric can be used by state advocates to improve access and equity in their own state for crime victims on Aug 20 at 1pm EDT 🔗 Let's create a future of healing and justice, together.

Politicians tell us that law and order will save us from danger, but recently released data reveals a different reality - the overall violent crime rate has been declining to the lowest recorded rate since 1969.

New York prisons are keeping people locked in boiling cells for up to 21 hours a day. The extreme summer heat is cruel and dangerous for millions of people inside state prisons, as nearly no facilities have air conditioning or adequate ventilation. This isn't justice, it's harm.

Our Communities For Safety Collective is designed for New Yorkers who believe that safety doesn’t start with policing, punishment, and endless surveillance — it starts with addressing the root causes of violence and holding people truly accountable for their actions. Learn more and apply by Nov. 1!

Each year spent in prison takes two years off a person's life expectancy. With more than 2 million people incarcerated, the prison system has shortened the average American life expectancy by four years.

"Though politicians capitalize on public fear to convince us that extra policing and surveillance are what make us safer, we know that isn’t true," writes Sadia Saba of Common Justice. Read more about the realities of public safety and true justice here 🔗 citylimits.org/opinion-poli...

Did you know? Black people are 2.7x more likely than white people to die by guns. Studies show that Black and brown communities encounter higher rates of gun homicides and police shootings due to historical and systemic racism.

We have only four items left! Donate today and make a big impact this back-to-school season 📚

🚫 Myth: Crime rates are up an immigrants are the ones to blame. ✅ Truth: Crime rates are at a historic low and have been declining since 2014. Nationwide data revealed that just 3% of people jailed are non-citizens.

Baltimore is experiencing its’ lowest homicide rate in 50 years – strategies rooted in community engagement are the cause. The results are clear: approaches that prevent crime are more effective than simply punishing it.

Our use of language in the media and the real-world largely shape our perceptions and interactions with those around us. Many of our culture’s deep narratives about violence and crime can be traced back to the stories and assumptions that validated slavery, the Black Codes and Jim Crow.

ICYMI: A new scathing report from the Department of Justice found abuse in federal prisons, including the overuse of restraints and shackles so tight that prisoners report scarring and permanent injury.

It’s that time of year again! We need your help to provide resources to responsible parties and their children. Your gift goes further than pencils and backpacks. It supports transformation, healing, and a future grounded in hope. Make your contribution today. www.amazon.com/registries/g...

Did you know? Recent spikes in deportations could hand private prisons a massive payday, turning human suffering into corporate profit. This isn’t just about immigration—it’s about exploiting vulnerable people for financial gain through our country's punitive system. (Source: HuffPost)