Image credit: Sarah-Ji @loveandstrugglephotos
It’s time to end our reliance on criminalization and retribution in the U.S. We must adopt transformative alternatives rooted in healing and human dignity.
Prisons and policing don’t keep us safe. Even with the world’s highest incarcerations rate, the U.S. faces high rates of gun violence. AFSC advocates for community-based approaches that work better to create accountability, facilitate healing, and prevent harm.
300
Public records requests filed to gather data for “Equipped for War,” a detailed look at militarized policing in California.
6,000
Letters from people in New York and New Jersey prisons answered by AFSC staff and volunteers in FY22.
Related Programs
Everyone has a role to play in creating safe, healthy communities for all—without relying on prisons or policing. Our programs work in partnership with communities across the U.S.
Michigan Criminal Justice
The Michigan Criminal Justice Program works directly with people imprisoned in Michigan to advocate for and with them, with the long-term goal of prison de-population.
St. Louis Peacebuilding
The St. Louis Peacebuilding Program partners with young people to empower them to create change at the institutional and systemic level.
Twin Cities Healing Justice
The Twin Cities Healing Justice program works to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through anti-racist youth organizing, restorative practices, coalition building and centering the voices of youth of color.
New York Healing Justice
AFSC’s NY Healing Justice Program supports people to heal and take leadership roles in confronting injustice. We work to improve the lives of the currently and formerly incarcerated.
Wabanaki
AFSC's Wabanaki Program works to heal the trauma of Wabanaki communities in Maine. We draw communities together to confront injustices and promote healing among Maine's four Wabanaki tribes.
California Healing Justice
The California Healing Justice Program works to reduce reliance on incarceration and policing and replace them with restorative, healing practices. We concentrate on three areas: ending mass incarceration, demilitarizing police, and the promotion of healing alternatives.
West Virginia Economic Justice
The West Virginia Economic Justice Project (WVEJ) works statewide on issues affecting low income and working families. We build effective coalitions in support of economic justice for all people.
Chicago Peacebuilding
Chicago Peacebuilding is peacebuilding work for the 21st Century. We work to dismantle militarist practices and support the well-being of those targeted and criminalized by state violence.
Economic Activism
The Economic Activism program aims to expose, isolate, and reduce corporate complicity in state violence. We especially focus on corporations involved in incarceration and immigrant detention, the Israeli occupation, and the border industries.
St. Louis Peacebuilding
The St. Louis Peacebuilding Program partners with young people to empower them to create change at the institutional and systemic level.
Public Policy and Advocacy
AFSC has more than a century of experience working with communities across the globe. In our policy and advocacy work, we bring these perspectives to the U.S. capital, United Nations, and other policy bodies.
U.S. Palestine Activism Program
For decades, AFSC has worked to realize a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.
New Hampshire
AFSC’s New Hampshire Program works to nourish a growing movement of people calling for social, racial, and economic justice.
