Inside a new space completely designed for restorative justice, no detail is too small. Even the chairs matter. “The contrast of furniture in incarceration settings is that it’s bolted down. The environment itself speaks to we don’t trust you,” said Garrett Jacobs, director of research and evaluation for Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, the architecture firm...

“An Oakland nonprofit that has long worked in county jails now has a space of its own in San Francisco. Community Works West, a restorative-justice organization that assists incarcerated children and adults, founded in 1997, opened its “Restorative Hub” at 986 Mission St. in December. The 6,000-square-foot SoMa facility is the organization’s first in The City, providing...

We pay a high price when our loved ones are entangled in a punitive justice system that often leads to incarceration. The Sentence Unseen bears witness to the impacts of the US criminal justice system when family members are taken away from our community. The exhibit sheds light on the collateral consequences of arrest and...