How We Help

HOW WE HELP

SERVICES

Housing & Transitional Living

This is an extremely critical service that helps individuals maintain long-term sobriety. Many clients are homeless when arrested and have no home they can return to. Justice Forward helps to pay for supportive housing for men and women participating in and graduating from one of 23 Houston-area Specialty Court programs. Transitional housing also provides socialization in a home-like environment. A stable living arrangement is crucial for these individuals to adapt to sober living and to establish themselves back into the community.

Specialty Counseling & Recovery Coaching

Specialty counseling and recovery coaching are essential to teach individuals life skills and provide one-on-one mental health support when they need it the most. Justice Forward offers stipends for recovery coach training and trauma and grief counseling through community partners.

Transportation Assistance

Transportation assistance is key to helping individuals meet required counseling appointments, classes, employment and other activities. Most do not own automobiles and use public transportation to go to appointments, work and classes. Justice Forward provides funds for bus passes and other transportation, as well as gas cards for those with personal vehicles.

Incentives & Gift Cards

Incentives are a critical component of evidence-based treatment. Justice Forward provides merchant gift cards to be used in court as rewards to encourage positive behavior.

PROGRAMS

Tuition Assistance

Education is one of the most important gateways to life-long success and financial stability, but many individuals never have the opportunity to pursue postsecondary education because of a lack of support and limited resources. This is especially true for people who have been caught in the destructive cycles of substance use disorder or mental illness, which can turn education beyond high school into an impossible dream.


We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to attend college and achieve academic success, especially those who have successfully overcome destructive life habits and hurdles. Justice Forward is pleased to offer Tuition Assistance Grants specifically for graduates of any of the Specialty Court programs in Greater Houston who desire to reach new heights through postsecondary education. The goal of Justice Forward is to see these graduates achieve academic success and become America’s next generation of leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.


If you are a participant in or graduate of a Specialty Court program in Harris, Galveston or Fort Bend counties and would like to apply for a Tuition Assistance Grant, please complete the application here. 
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Workforce Training

True economic stability cannot be achieved without gainful employment. Increasingly, there is recognition in the U.S. that college is not the only path to a viable career. The manufacturing, infrastructure, and transportation fields are all expected to grow in the coming years, and many of these jobs do not require a four-year degree. They do, however, require specialized training and in some cases, certification.


Vocational training can give applicants an edge in job searches, since they already have the certifiable knowledge that they need to enter the field. Justice Forward will offer tuition assistance for vocational training to encourage those Specialty Court graduates who desire to go into a particular trade. 


If you are a participant in or graduate of a Specialty Court program in Harris, Galveston or Fort Bend counties and would like to apply for Workforce Development Training Assistance, please complete the application here.  


Justice Forward  does not fund vocational training programs at for-profit institutions.
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Clear Path Forward Program

 Thanks to generous grants from the Texas Bar Foundation, Justice Forward is now able to help graduates from adult Harris, Galveston and Fort Bend County Specialty Courts apply for Petitions for Non-Disclosure for their felony or misdemeanor deferred adjudications. We will pay the filing fee as well as attorneys’ fees because we know what a barrier your criminal history can be when looking for employment and housing. 

The Texas Legislature has mandated waiting periods that begin upon successful termination of your deferred adjudication. The period of time you must wait depends on the level and type of case you had. If you are interested in being screened for this project, please fill out the application here.
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Kids Moving Forward

Kids Moving Forward is a pilot program that provides weekly trauma counseling for young women and men enrolled in Harris County Juvenile Specialty Courts who are victims of sex trafficking, suffer from substance abuse disorder or have a mental illness. The program will allow eligible youth to participate in counseling sessions at no cost and, through a partnership with the Harris County RIDES program, will provide free transportation to and from each session.

Party Sober Partnership

Justice Forward has partnered with a group of twelve local nonprofits seeking to create a safe and fun community for our program graduates by hosting free social events. We hope that these events will promote long-term sobriety and reduce social isolation and hopelessness. This group will schedule events during holidays or big events typically associated with drinking. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on Party Sober happenings.
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