Welcome to The Community Works Summer 2026 Newsletter!
Building a More Restorative Future, Together
This summer, Community Works is celebrating the people, ideas, and community partnerships that are helping create a more just, compassionate, and restorative future. From bringing youth voices to the national stage at the NACRJ Conference to advocating for policies that protect survivors and invest in young people, our work continues to center healing, dignity, accountability, and opportunity.
In this issue, we share reflections from the 2026 National Association of Community and Restorative Justice Conference, where CW staff and youth leaders joined nearly 1,700 advocates and practitioners to explore what it means to build communities rooted in restoration rather than punishment. We also highlight our advocacy work in Sacramento and locally, where we continue fighting for policies that strengthen families, protect survivors, and reduce the harms of incarceration and the justice system.
Art and storytelling take center stage as we celebrate The Art of Resilience, showcasing the creativity and healing journeys of survivors of violence, and welcome the Foster Youth Museum to our Restorative Hub. We also spotlight the power of economic stability through Owens’ story and his experience with the Restorative Resiliency Fund, demonstrating how flexible support can help young people move beyond survival and invest in their futures.
Finally, we look ahead by inviting the next generation of leaders to join Project WHAT!, sharing a summer reading list focused on restorative justice and community safety, and asking our community to help sustain this work.
Together, these stories remind us that change happens when we listen to lived experience, create space for healing, invest in young people, and work collectively to reimagine what safety, justice, and community can look like. The future is restorative—and we are building it together.
