Community Justice Center helps formerly incarcerated individuals stay out of Nebraska prisons
James Jones, executive director and senior trainer at the Community Justice Center, sits in his office in Lincoln Feb. 29. The non-profit organization has been providing resources and classes for formerly incarcerated individuals since 2001. (Jordan Moore/Nebraska News Service)
By Jordan Moore
The Community Justice Center has helped more than 17,000 formerly incarcerated individuals across Nebraska and Colorado through peer-facilitated habilitation classes.
In 2001, James Jones, executive director and senior trainer at the Community Justice Center, started the non-profit organization in Lincoln with one goal in mind: restorative justice.
It means understanding the harm that was caused by offenders and providing them with resources to rebuild relationships within the community during and after prison, Jones said.
“You address the needs of a community,” Jones said. “That’s restorative justice.”
James Jones, executive director of the Community Justice Center, teaches a victim impact class in Lincoln March 2. (Jordan Moore/Nebraska News Service)
The organization has maintained restorative justice through classes and “circles of support” for any individual during or after their sentence in all Nebraska Department of Correctional Services institutions, the Douglas County Department of Corrections, the Colorado Department of Corrections and in Nebraska communities.
Classes are led by facilitators who have strived to increase accountability, decrease harmful behavior and develop what Jones called “emotional hygiene.” This is achieved through reading statements of real victims of harm submitted on the Community Justice Center website, engagement activities and educating the individual of the harm that they caused, Jones said.
Rick Carter, the program and operations manager at the Community Justice Center, has facilitated circles of support and classes in Nebraska since 2017.
The resources provided at the center gives individuals a safe space, Carter said.
“One of the things that resonates with our participants is that they’re empowered to change their behavior,” Carter said. “It’s not something that I give them; they already have it.”
This work does not invalidate the harm caused by the offender, Carter said. It has helped to provide an opportunity for justice-involved individuals to develop empathy for their victims and make better choices moving forward.
James Jones, executive director of the Community Justice Center, teaches a victim impact class the importance of restorative justice in Lincoln March 2. (Jordan Moore/Nebraska News Service)
“When people come together, you would not believe the amount of not only empathy but compassion and support that comes from others in the circle,” Carter said.
The Community Justice Center is entirely staffed by individuals who have been incarcerated themselves, ranging from 36 hours to 41 years in prison, Carter said. He said this gives the organization a unique advantage.
“I know what it’s like to wear that orange jumpsuit that they wear,” Carter said. “This is a place where we’ve all made mistakes, and we’re here to talk about our mistakes.”
A map of Nebraska hangs in the Community Justice Center in Lincoln Feb. 29 detailing the various classes the organization provides across the state. (Jordan Moore/Nebraska News Service)
A Nebraska Department of Correctional Services prison population report revealed that Nebraska prisons exceeded their total capacity by nearly 1,800 inmates last year. Nearly a third of inmates returned to prison within three years of being released, according to the report.
The Community Justice Center has worked to break the cycle of inmate reentry rates and prison overcrowding in Nebraska by giving individuals the tools to stay out of prison, Carter said.
James Jones takes a group photo of individuals who completed the Community Justice Center’s victim impact class on March 2. Participants are required to attend the eight-hour-long course in order to complete their probation sentences. (Jordan Moore/Nebraska News Service)
Nebraska has planned to build a new prison to replace the current Nebraska State Penitentiary, Gov. Jim Pillen announced last August, costing the state an estimated $350 million.
Organizations like the Community Justice Center have helped formerly incarcerated individuals stay out of prison, increase public safety and help save Nebraska tax dollars going toward new prisons. However, this work has gone mostly unnoticed, Jones said.
“I wish people would see others for who they are and not just define them by the worst thing they’ve ever done,” Carter said. “At the core, we’re all just people.”