Mental health

Inside Voices – February 2023

Think twice before demanding Bernstein resignation There’s no mistaking Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein’s Freudian Slip objection to newly appointed Justice Kyra Bolden’s hiring ex-felon Pete Martel as one of her law clerks as racism, bigotry, or discrimination. But calls for Bernstein’s resignation are unwarranted because his outburst isn’t reflective of the “blind justice” [...]

A Day in the Life of a Community Engagement Specialist

One of the most rewarding things about working for criminal justice reform is getting people interested in transforming our court and prison systems and watching the momentum for change build, both in Michigan and nationwide. So, when I got a call from Sean Wilkinson, a reporter and videographer from San Francisco who is representing the [...]

Help for incarceration-related childhood trauma

We have long understood that incarceration of a parent can be traumatizing for a child — something we know from both peer-reviewed research and anecdotal evidence. Sadly, 1 in 10 children in Michigan have experienced having a parent in jail or prison, according to a 2016 study from the Annie E. Casey foundation. Children with [...]

2021-11-17T20:09:31-05:00November 17th, 2021|Categories: Blog, Juveniles, Mental health, Trauma|

Citizens for Prison Reform releases report on solitary confinement

In 2014, Sabrie Alexander suffered more than 100 seizures over the period of two days. She and her family already knew that she had a seizure disorder, so normally, they would have rushed her to a hospital to get immediate treatment. But 2014 wasn’t a normal time for Sabrie, who was then 27-years-old. She was [...]

Second Try at First-Offense Drunk Driving Expungement

2020 was a phenomenal year for criminal justice reform in Michigan, with everything from Clean Slate to the jails task force bills making their way into law. Amid all those victories, however, was one bitter disappointment: drunk driving expungement. In a promising development, however, it appears there may yet be hope for people hoping for [...]

2021-03-15T15:46:23-04:00February 23rd, 2021|Categories: Blog, Mental health, Sentencing, Substance abuse|

Families feel more separated than ever this year – here’s how you can help

Early on during this pandemic, the thoughtful folks at AFSC-Michigan, and here at Safe & Just Michigan, had an idea to create a safe space for families and loved ones of men and women incarcerated. As prisons ended visits out of COVID-19 fears, we wanted to create a space for people who might want a [...]

2020-11-23T13:58:47-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Categories: Blog, Mental health, Reentry, Trauma|

Metal Health Matters

It has only been a couple months since I took part in the Juvenile Lifers Summer Camp retreat. However, during this pandemic, time has somehow seemed to have slowed a bit. I was a little bummed because my friend Walter had informed me that he could not attend the latest Metal Health Art Workshop because [...]

2020-10-28T18:04:24-04:00October 28th, 2020|Categories: Blog, Lifers, Mental health, Recidivism, Reentry, Trauma|

An Evidence-Based Discussion to End the Sex Offender Registry

There are more than 44,000 people on Michigan’s bloated sex offender registry — more people than are incarcerated inside Michigan prisons — and this number grows yearly. For more than 90 percent of people on this list, registration is for 25 years to life. While there is a process to petition for removal from the [...]

2020-06-03T16:56:32-04:00June 3rd, 2020|Categories: Blog, Crime survivors, Mental health, Parole, Recidivism, Reentry, Sex offenses|