We are writing with some very exciting news: AFSC-Arizona is preparing to transition to an independent organization as of January 1, 2022. We are in the process of establishing ourselves as an Arizona-based nonprofit organization called Just Communities Arizona (JCA).
We are deeply grateful to AFSC for being such a wonderful home for us over the last 20+ years, and we appreciate their support for our transition. Fortunately, the Service Committee has a long and proud history of incubating programs and fostering their independence. Their guidance and active assistance in our transition has been invaluable. We will always cherish our time as part of the AFSC family and will remain in solidarity and coalition with the organization as we move forward.
What is Just Communities Arizona?
At Just Communities Arizona, we affirm the inherent and undeniable dignity of every person and the immeasurable worth of every community. We’re creating new models for justice and safety, outside of Arizona’s punishment system. Together, we’re working toward a system that provides healing, community, and safety for everyone.
How do we do it?
At Just Communities Arizona, we work alongside and for people with convictions, formerly incarcerated people, and our shared communities to:
- Center their stories
- Cultivate the next generation of community leaders
- Reframe justice through a lens of healing, not retribution
- Dismantle outdated ideas and harmful systems
- Build community-based solutions
The work we will do as Just Communities Arizona is a continuation of our decades of advocacy and organizing to reduce the size and scope of the punishment system, but with a complementary focus on fostering and resourcing new community-based approaches that contribute to safe and healthy people and communities.
Just Communities Arizona is an abolitionist organization–we are building a world in which prisons and jails are unnecessary. We envision a world in without prisons and jail. This requires two types of responses to the punishment paradigm: Work that dismantles the current system and work to co-create true alternatives that center power within communities and support them in creating safety, well-being, and abundance.
As our new name implies, this new organization will build on our successful work by uplifting and strengthening community-led solutions that create safety completely outside the punishment system. We will build a reverse pipeline that frees people and resources from the punishment system and delivers them back into the hands of their communities.
Come with us!
We are excited to share this new vision with our allies and partners and hope that you will accompany us on our journey. As of January 1, 2022 our mailing lists and social media accounts will transition to this new organization.
Please note our new webpage, which will go live on 1/1/22: www.justcommunitiesarizona.org
We do not have a physical office space, but our mailing address remains the same:
PO Box 13369
Tucson, AZ 85732
New Staff Contacts
- Caroline Isaacs, Executive Director: (520) 623-2928, caroline@justcomaz.org
- Rebecca (Becca) Fealk, Director of Policy and Research: (520) 200-8076, becca@justcomaz.org
- Jason Martinez, Finance and Operations Manager: (520) 201-5860, jason@justcomaz.org
- Enrique Olivares-Pelayo, ReFraming Justice Organizer: (520) 884-7749, enrique@justcomaz.org
Your donations make all the difference!
Due to a backlog at the IRS, Just Communities Arizona has not yet received its official designation as a nonprofit organization. The Primavera Foundation has graciously agreed to step in and act as a fiscal sponsor until we receive our designation letter. This ensures that your contributions to Just Communities Arizona will be tax deductible.
If you are so inclined, please make out any donations to the Primavera Foundation and clearly note (in the bottom left corner or otherwise in writing) that your donation is intended to support Just Communities Arizona. As of January 1, 2022 we will be able to accept online donations via our webpage.
We are grateful to you for your support and partnership and we look forward to continuing to work together to transform Arizona’s justice landscape to create true and lasting safety for all communities.
Gratefully,
Caroline Isaacs
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