– On August 13th, 2019, the County Board of Supervisors voted to remove youth out of Los Angeles County Probation Department supervision, the largest probation department in the country. There will be a Youth Justice Work Group created within the Office of Youth Diversion and Development to investigate an alternative system for meeting the needs of youth who come into contact with the law.
– Another huge win was achieved by the coalition on October 1st, 2019 when the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion to create a Probation Oversight Commission with power to hold the department accountable. LAYUP pushed for and secured four powers to hold the Department accountable: (1) subpoena powers, (2) community engagement, (3) policy and budget review, and (4) independent investigations and inspections. This commission will include two members of the community, one who has been system involved and another who has experienced a family member being system involved.
The Social Justice Learning Institute, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations at the forefront of the social justice and equity movement since 2008, has been working for over a decade to improve the education, health, and wellbeing of youth and communities of color through research, training, and community mobilization.
Since the founding of our Houston Branch in 2018, the Houston team has partnered with five schools within the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to increase college and career preparation, academic competencies, and skills building among students of color through our flagship Urban Scholars program.
Using education as a tool, we empower youth of color to create thriving communities and more equitable systems by providing relevant curriculum and academic support.
By tapping into the following 4 key areas, they learn to build knowledge of self for personal transformation, develop social awareness of the world around them, and achieve academic success.
We provide individualized academic and career pathway development and take students on college and career field trips o support their journeys to and through post-secondary plans.
We work with students to address and overcome trauma through restorative practices, outdoor retreats, and individual therapy sessions with mental health professionals.
We strengthen students’ sense of self through mindfulness activities, team-building, and leadership development in the classroom and at retreats.
We train students in community-based action research, policy advocacy, and organizing so they can become leaders who transform their communities.
Meet Toderick Hollis, one of our 2021 graduates from Phillis Wheatley High School.
The brilliant student will attend Lamar University this Fall, where he plans to study business and explore how to apply both his studies and passion for social justice to improving the lives of those around him.
To mark his journey, Toderick was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from My Brother’s Keeper and like our other graduates, received a few gifts from the SJLI family, including a stole, a medal, a program certificate, and a fresh pair of Jordans thanks to our partnership with the Jordan Wings Foundation.
Since laying the groundwork in Houston three years ago, we’ve been tracking our impact so we can make program improvements that lead to greater gains in academic achievement. Here is a look at some of our numbers:
If you operate a school committed to improving educational outcomes for young men and women of color, we want to work with you.
Urban Scholars programming is typically offered during the school day as an elective period, or as an extra-curricular offering. All participating school sites will receive a designated school site coordinator to work directly with your selected instructors.
Instructors Receive:
Students Receive:
As our roots continue to grow in Houston, we welcome you to get to know us better. Join our community of folks who are ready to learn, grow, and change the lives of young men and women of color together.
The Healthy & Sustainable Inglewood Collaborative (HSIC) is a collection of stakeholders representing various health agencies, businesses, community groups, faith-based organizations, public agencies and community members that was established to advocate for healthy eating, active living and climate change resilience.
Brothers, Sons, Selves CoalitionWe are a collaborating partner within the Liberty Hill Foundation’s Brothers, Sons, Selves (BSS) Coalition that works to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color by advocating for positive alternatives to suspension and reducing criminalization of communities of color. Participating youth are supported with leadership and advocacy trainings on topics including public speaking, socio-political education, issue education and community organizing.
Several of our youth participated in advocating for the passage of SB 419 in Sacramento to end willful defiance suspensions. Willful defiance suspensions disproportionately affected students of color and the new law represents a victory in disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by keeping students in school.
Students advocated against SB 419 in front of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Uplift Inglewood Coalition
SJLI serves as the anchor organization for the Uplift Inglewood Coalition, a collection of youth, residents, renters, homeowners and community-based organizations in Inglewood who are directly impacted by the effects of gentrification and displacement in the City. As the anchor organization, SJLI has led and facilitated multiple social media campaigns, door-knocking campaigns, and phone banking campaigns to provide Inglewood residents information about housing rights, Uplift Inglewood events, reaching more than 8,000 residents.
100 Seeds of ChangeThe 100 Seeds of Change initiative establishes a local level food system through the activation of home plots, schools, parks and vacant lots with gardens and nutrition classes. SJLI built and continues to maintain a network of over 100 school, community and home gardens in Inglewood and surrounding areas. Community members, including students, their families and local volunteers, help maintain and harvest the gardens, so that residents can be empowered to eat healthy, whole foods.
Food For Thought Produce Pickup
SJLI partners with Food Forward, which works with wholesale food markets to recover quality produce that is not selected by grocers and restaurants. Recognizing that affordable access remains an issue in Inglewood, SJLI partners with the local school district to host a monthly produce pickup for students’ families. Produce not selected by families is composted back into soil used in 100 Seeds of Change gardens.
Inglewood Certified Farmers’ Market
SJLI operates a bi-weekly farmers’ market that offers affordable, healthy food to communities that are not regularly exposed to low-cost healthy food options. The farmers’ market increases healthy food access for local community members, and serves as another avenue to distribute the affordable produce that SJLI grows, produces and aggregates from our network of community and school gardens.
Urban Scholars Alumni Support Program
Urban Scholars Alumni Network
In order to increase engagement with the alumni and SJLI, Urban Scholar alumni formalized their network by creating the Urban Leaders Council in 2016. Officers are elected to the council and host regular meetings to stay informed on alumni needs and opportunities
Urban Health Fellowship
The Urban Health Fellowship (UHF) is a health education and career exposure pipeline program held during the academic year for young men of color that are interested in allied health and medical field careers.
Throughout the program youth are exposed to opportunities to engage with health professionals in a variety of ways. Students can participate in tours to health organizations and college health departments and can learn more about the field in weekly sessions and through conducting community health research. Students will also receive support in identifying individual career pathways and internship placement in order make students competitive for 2-year, 4-year and vocational programs.
If you are interested in bringing UHF to your school please fill out a form here.
Students on a field trip at the sports medicine department of Loyola Marymount University.
During the Summer, young men may participate in our six-week Urban Health Fellowship. Participants conduct research on health disparities, receive CPR certification, have networking opportunities, and receive a stipend. Applications will open in May.