Who We Are
The Women's Community Justice Association is a non-profit dedicated to advocating for mental and physical wellness, healing, safety, justice, and ending mass incarceration for women, families, young adults, and gender-expansive people. We strive to empower through supportive resources and transformative initiatives, fostering a community where everyone can thrive. Together, we promote holistic approaches that prioritize mental health and healing, ensuring that safety and justice are accessible to all.
Our Mission
is to disrupt and dismantle the unjust, racially charged systems that perpetuate trauma, violence, and harm to women, families, young adults, and gender-expansive people, particularly in black and brown communities.
Our Vision
is to create and foster long-term well-being and community resilience through houses of healing.
What We Do
#BEYONDrosies Campaign
- To build a more just and supportive environment where individuals are empowered, communities thrive, and the cycle of incarceration is dismantled.
- Advocate for systemic change and prioritize healing over punishment.
- To transform lives and communities for the better.
- To decarcerate and close the Rose M. Singer Center (Rosies) before the city's timeline.
WCJA employs a holistic healing-centered approach and methodology aimed at advocating for and amplifying the voices of individuals across the spectrum of womanhood and gender diversity. We prioritize healing and empowerment in striving to create a supportive environment that recognizes the diverse experiences and challenges faced by women and gender-expansive individuals. We foster resilience, promote justice, and facilitate positive change through:
Public Education: By sharing our stories, we aim to challenge misconceptions, promote understanding, and advocate for policy and programming changes that prioritize holistic approaches to healing and wellness for justice-impacted women.
Collaborative learning and shared solutions: We develop innovative solutions for empowering women affected by mass incarceration by leveraging shared expertise, experiences, and resources.
Data-driven impact: We use data to demonstrate that successful reintegration of women- including those with serious convictions- leads to improved public safety outcomes.
Holistic support and healing: We provide comprehensive support, including mentoring, skill-building, leadership development, access to resources, and opportunities for personal growth. We address the underlying traumas and systemic barriers, so women, families, young adults, and gender-expansive people are empowered to heal, transform their lives, and contribute positively to their communities.
Expansion and replication: We advocate for replication of successful healing models in NYC and other regions to amplify our impact and create lasting change for women affected by mass incarceration.
Justice 4 Women Task Force (J4WTF)
The Justice 4 Women Task Force (J4WTF) is a collective of systems and directly impacted people, family members, supporters, advocates, and organizations who strategize, organize, and mobilize to fight for women, families, young adults, and gender-expansive people in and out of Rikers Island's Rose M. Singer center, county jails, and New York State prisons.