Transformative Justice Education & Holistic Youth Support

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

South LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

LA County operates the world’s largest jail system. Youth impacted by the criminal injustice and foster systems face barriers to education, stable housing, and self-affirming care. Many are pushed out of schools, experience trauma-related instability, and lack access to transportation, food, and funds—leaving them vulnerable to deeper system entrenchment. For instance, ~30% of youth experiencing homelessness have been through foster care, and half have been in detention centers (Voice of Youth Count). The absence of wraparound support often means re-entering cycles of incarceration, poverty, and housing insecurity that continue into adulthood. Restorative/transformative justice approaches offer a revolutionary alternative; in human-centered environments, students focus on healing, positive reinforcement, and building trusting relationships; RJ/TJ practices lead to decreased disciplinary issues, higher attendance, closer connections to community, and improved learning (Dhaliwal et al).

These funds will expand and further ensure the sustainability of FREE LA HS’s TJ-based support model, an alternative for system-impacted youth pushed out of LAUSD/other LA County school districts. FREE LA’s program offers HS certification, YES (Youth Empowerment Support) pods, trauma-informed wellness counseling, and holistic services—including court support, emergency assistance, and mentorship network, helping youth complete their education and stabilize their lives. Students complete required credits and senior portfolios across organizing, construction, culinary, and community health/safety career pathways. Funding will deepen FREE LA’s capacity to provide individualized support, create a fund for housing insecure students to get support, provide meals by increasing YJC’s kitchen capacity, give financial incentives to staff with available capacity for support care team coordination, and expand our emergency fund so more students can get basic needs met and get through crises.

85–100 youth will receive education and stabilizing support, serving as a model for TJ; funding will lead to improved attendance, graduation rates, and reduced court involvement. Students will have a pathway to success rooted in healing and self-determination. Staff will report increased student engagement, and youth will have consistent access to counseling, legal guidance, and basic resources to stay on track.
Also, 5000+ youth and community members/year will receive essential resources/services via community food giveaways, health/safety distribution events, and organizing actions promoting state and LA County policies that support rather than incriminate youth.

Long term, community-based alternatives like FREE LA will become the norm—not the exception—for young people impacted by trauma and incarceration. More and more youth will feel inspired and capable of taking on leadership/decisionmaking roles to guide systems away from harm and toward care.