Our Mission:

inspire.

Determining the Programs, Policies, and Services Needed to Rebuild the Lives of Criminal Justice Involved Women and Men.

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Our Values:

We are dedicated to the creation of an environment whereby those involved in the criminal justice system can be provided with appropriate supervision, treatment, services, and referrals to safely engage and succeed in their own recovery. Collectively, we must envision a system of justice that provides a pathway to well-being for all who are involved.

HT CCWF.jpg — What do we offer?

We will strive to raise awareness of the complex needs of women and men involved in the criminal justice system through:
- Research and Evaluation
- Training and Technical Assistance
- Consultation and Recommendations
- Client Navigation of Health and Social Services
Our team has over 150 years of combined expertise regarding gender specific pathways to substance use and criminal justice involvement and patterns of recovery.

Mica’s Mission

Envisioning Justice Solutions (EJS) has expanded its services to criminal justice-involved women who grieve and attempt to survive the death of a child. There are little to no services for incarcerated mothers suffering in isolation. Donations are requested to realize this vision to provide resources and support to help heal from this trauma and to honor the life of Mica Messina (5/26/2000 - 8/1/2023).

Who can benefit?

Our experts can provide criminal justice and substance use treatment professionals and other state and county agencies with up-to-date research and information regarding treatment interventions including information on primary needs, setting, implementation, and multi-agency collaboration.

80%

percentage of women

Convicted of homicide who acted in self defense against an abuser (Solidarity, Carol Jacobson)

92%

percentage of incarcerated girls

Who have been exposed to physical, emotional or sexual abuse (Princeton University)

1 in 48

Americans under correctional supervision (1 in 48 adult U.S. residents).

At yearend 2022, an estimated 5,407,300 of the U.S. population were living under correctional supervision—which includes incarcerated individuals as well as those under parole and probation. (Buehler, E., & Kluckow, R. (2024) Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Officers:

President & Chief Executive Officer

Nena P. Messina, PhD, is a Criminologist retired from UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs and has been involved in substance use research for over 25 years. Dr. Messina’s areas of expertise include the specialized treatment needs of criminal justice-involved women, the impact of trauma-responsive programs, and the association between crime, mental health, and substance use.

V.P. & Chief Operating Officer

Stacy B. Calhoun, PhD, is a Criminologist at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. She has been involved in criminal justice and substance use research for over 20 years. She specializes in qualitative methods and her research interests include health services, gender issues, treatment outcome research for those with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.

Secretary

Kira Jeter, Ph.D., in Public Health and is also involved in substance use research at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. She has been responsible for managing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of substance use and mental health treatment programs for homeless and justice involved individuals.