Our Mission:
inspire.
Determining the Programs, Policies, and Services Needed to Rebuild the Lives of Criminal Justice Involved Men and Women.
Our Values:
We are dedicated to the creation of an environment whereby criminal justice involved woman and men 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.
What do we offer?
We will strive to raise awareness of the complex needs of men and women 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 50 years of combined expertise regarding gender specific pathways to crime and addiction and patterns of recovery.
Envisioning Justice Solutions (EJS) has a vision underway to open a Women’s Wellness Center in 2019. The Center will offer 100% free services for formerly incarcerated women including those currently under criminal justice supervision.
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 former offender 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)
x3
Americans under correctional supervision (1980 - 2014).
Collectively, the U.S. population living under correctional supervision—which includes incarcerated individuals as well as those under parole and probation—has risen from 1.84 million in 1980 to about 6.85 million in 2014. (Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Ryan Nunn, Lauren Bauer, Audrey Breitwieser, Megan Mumford, and Greg Nantz, 2016).
Officers:
President & Chief Executive Officer
Nena P. Messina, PhD, is a Criminologist at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs and has been involved in substance abuse research for over 20 years. Dr. Messina’s areas of expertise include the specialized treatment needs of drug-dependent women offenders, drug-endangered children, and the association between crime, mental health, and substance abuse.
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 abuse research for over 16 years. She specializes in qualitative methods and her research interests include health services, gender issues, treatment for substance involved offenders and mentally ill offenders.
Secretary
Kira Jeter, M.P.H., is a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. Ms. Jeter was also a Project Director at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs for over 11 years. She has been responsible for managing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of substance abuse and mental health treatment programs for homeless and justice involved individuals.
Dr. Nena Messina - Evaluator. Peer Facilitator and Graduate. Dr. Stephanie Covington - Curricula Developer