It could be for something as small as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or making the kind of mistake that would be overlooked in other zip codes in the city. Often, it’s simply because of the color of their skin. This happens to kids as young as 10 years old in neighborhoods like Lawndale, where civil rights have been challenged for decades.
At Lawndale Christian Legal Center, our restorative justice program, supported by holistic social and legal services, is working to change this. For good. We’ve been helping keep kids out of jail, restoring young lives tangled in a deeply flawed system, and inspiring hope in places where hope has been hard to come by.
But we can’t do this alone. We need people like you, who know this is wrong, care about social justice, and want to help transform an unjust system. Join with us, because when we defend them, we defend the ideals of our democracy as well.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there. A lot of opinions being shared about what’s going on with criminal justice in this country, without accurate information to back things up. We’ve made this free downloadable cheat sheet to help you whenever you find yourself discussing this with friends and family.
Join our email community today. When you sign up for our email community you can stay informed, get inspired and find out how you can be involved in working for a better, more just Chicago.
Right now, we don’t have enough resources to serve everyone who walks through our door. Your donation will help young people grow into the kind of citizens they were meant to be, make the community safer, and allow us to continue to work for real justice for all.
We work with young people under 25, those most affected by neighborhood violence and aggressive policing, with an emphasis on keeping them out of prison, keeping them from getting rearrested and repairing harm.
Our holistic approach goes beyond just seeking better outcomes in court, to actually securing better outcomes in life, helping our clients deal with the root causes of the issues they face, many stemming from systemic racial and economic injustice.
Restoring the community begins with being a part of it. A majority of our staff lives here in North Lawndale and many grew up here. The people who come through our doors are more than clients, they’re our neighbors. We see their strengths, hopes, and challenges every day.
