With Prop 36 on California’s ballot this year, this episode offers critical insight into the danger of prioritizing punishment over a care-first approach to justice. Please share with anyone who wants to learn about the consequences of regressive punitive policies and how to support the 70,000 people in the US currently living under 40,000 post-conviction legal restrictions.

Born in Ghana and raised in the United States, Kojo's promising basketball career was tragically cut short by gun violence at his college campus, an event that not only left him and his teammates physically wounded but also subjected them to baseless blame and stigma—an experience all too common in Black communities across the US. In spite of this trauma, Kojo channeled his experiences into a force for positive change, founding the Kosah Foundation to support his home community of Canarsie, Brooklyn. Through the Kosah Foundation, Kojo works to foster a love for basketball among the Canarsie youth and provide them with opportunities for growth and development. His work goes beyond sports; it's about nurturing a sense of belonging, purpose, and hope in a community often overlooked.

In this inspirational conversation, Kojo shares his insights on the importance of shifting out of limiting perspectives, the power of community healing, and the importance of acknowledging and supporting Black victims in the aftermath of violence.

From developing the first social work response model for the city of Detroit to becoming CSSJ's Statewide Manager of Pennsylvania, Alex has extensive experience both providing direct services to survivors in the immediate aftermath of trauma as well as advocating to center the voices of survivors in policy making.

In this episode, Alex discusses her own survivor story and the journey of keeping her sexual assault secret for many years to the transformative experience of speaking out about it on her own terms at last year's Survivors Speak in Harrisburg, PA.

This episode of the Crime Survivors Speak Podcast illuminates the power of taking that brave first step toward using our voices to advocate for ourselves and our communities. 

Today’s guest, India Brown, is here to speak about her own difficulties getting the support she needed after experiencing the loss of a loved one to violence, and how she turned that struggle into a mission to help other survivors recover and heal from violence.

India recently led efforts to help pass a historic bill in Ohio that made significant changes to the state’s victim compensation program to better support crime survivors. Tune in to listen to her powerful story. 

The guests on our podcast today, Kimesha Coleman and Shari Ware, are two leaders who are stepping forward to interrupt cycles of harm and destigmatize the shame of domestic violence by providing much-needed support for victims.

In this episode, we talk about the racial disparities that often determine how the justice system responds to victims of domestic violence, the need for funding and programming to be made accessible to under-served communities, and how real accountability can disrupt cycles of abuse and make a massive impact on public safety.