Safe & Equitable Communities
Equitable Justice & Strategic Initiatives
Our Programs & Initiatives
Our theory of change is that communities are safer when public institutions address social issues, promote healthy responses to trauma, and adopt community-led solutions.
In line with EJSI’s criminal justice and police accountability work, advocating for community-led solutions to violence and supporting gun reform are growing areas of focus.
Expungement Project
The Expungement Project aims to establish a national model for record relief throughout the Urban League movement. The Project leverages current record relief statutes across various states to identify records that are eligible for clearance with the purpose of lifting barriers for individuals seeking employment, housing, education, and other opportunities to promote self-reliance and high quality of life. Contributions to this project will support extensive case management and resources necessary to manage record clearance and operational expenses associated with client work, including database development and management and court filing fees, among other costs.
Clean Slate Initiative
The Clean Slate Initiative supports the work of the Expungement Project and is focused on record relief for citizens. The Initiative advocates for changes to legislation on the federal, state, and local levels to reduce the financial burdens the record-clearing process creates for justice-involved citizens. Supporting EJSI’s work on Clean Slate will contribute to developing public education campaigns to educate individuals on their rights and the process for having their criminal records expunged or sealed. It will also enable EJSI to engage in coalition-building efforts to pass legislation, host convenings, and facilitate training for advocates, among other costs.