3 Things We Learned at Thistle Farms
The annual conference provided a blueprint on how to start a social enterprise, but we came away with so much more. Recently, Board Member Mary Covington and I travelled to Nashville to attend the Thistle Farms National Conference. Thistle Farms is an extraordinary organization that provides two years of free housing and employment for female […]
The Party Sober Partnership’s First Event
Bad weather did not deter the crowds from the Sober Chili Cookoff and Cornbread Contest It was a cold, rainy day in February when the Party Sober Partnership hosted its first event for the recovery community in Houston, the Sober Chili Cookoff and Cornbread Contest. Despite the weather, over 300 people attended this fun, free […]
Building a Social Network of Sobriety and Support
Justice Forward is starting an alumni outreach program to check in on Specialty Court graduates and offer support. One of the golden rules of recovery is Thou Shalt Not Isolate. Life is just better if you have other people around you who are experiencing what you are experiencing and who are encouraging and supportive, especially […]
Announcing Our Newest Partnership: Party Sober
We’re joining with 8 local recovery organizations to sponsor some sober fun, because finding people to hang out with and fun things to do is key to sustaining long-term sobriety. I’ve talked about my sobriety journey a lot in this blog, but I don’t think I’ve ever discussed how hard it is to stay sober […]
A Super Fundraiser
The wind couldn’t blow away Superheroes for Justice! Our fall fundraising event was a ton of fun and raised over $127,000. When we first started planning our annual fundraiser in late spring, we had no idea what the pandemic would look like in October. Since our 2020 Picnic for Progress was such a great success […]
Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Trauma in the Criminal Justice System
Why we believe investing in trauma counseling is key to effective Specialty Court programs If you ever wonder how many people are in the Harris County Jail on any given day, you can go to this link and find out more than you probably ever wanted to know. A real time dashboard tracks the total population broken […]
The Mommy Wine Culture and Me
Why we believe investing in trauma counseling is key to effective Specialty Court programs I was Mommy Wine Culture before it had a name. Every night after work, I drank my “mommy juice.” Catching a buzz helped smooth the edges and lessen the drudgery of the endless laundry, figuring out dinner (Every. Single. Night.) and […]
Finding Freedom: A GIRLS Court Story
Anna was 13, addicted, and being trafficked on the streets when I met her. GIRLS Court changed all that. She was 13 years old when I met her in the holding cell of one of the Harris County Juvenile District Courts. She was petite and attractive, but very young, and more than anything she looked […]
Meet Justice Forward’s New Program Director
Stephanie Belton will help us develop, fund and track pilot programs so that we can help more clients effectively. The first program we came up with was Girls Moving Forward, a pilot program that provides weekly trauma counseling and transportation to 10 girls from the juvenile courts. This program was funded by H.E.B. and the William […]
Announcing Clear Path Forward
Justice Forward’s new program to help clients clean up their criminal history Imagine you are a business owner hiring a new employee, and you have two equally good candidates. They have virtually the same qualifications and experience. They both interviewed well. But one of them has a criminal history. His record shows that he successfully […]
