Our Why
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Rooted in Lived Experiences
At RECLAIM, our story is rooted in lived experience: as people of color, as those impacted by the criminal legal system, as individuals who have returned home carrying more than a record—we carry trauma, relational fractures, unspoken emotions, and the weight of an unwell system. We know from our own lives and our community that mental, emotional and relational wellness cannot be ignored in the journey of reintegration. They are the foundation of everything else.
Reclaiming Connection and Care
We saw our community members reintegrating, struggling to build trusting relationships, to name and express what they are feeling, to simply sit with themselves and feel like they belong in this world rather than being alienated. We see the same patterns being repeated from inside: over-programming to avoid thoughts and feelings, isolating rather than connecting, and the stigma that says asking for help is weakness. We have continuously seen that the systems meant to “support us” often caused further harm. That’s why we formed RECLAIM—to fill the gap we see, because we know this need is not being met.
The numbers tell a clear story. In the U.S., almost half of people in jails (44%) and over a third of people in prisons (37%) live with a diagnosed mental illness—rates much higher than in the general population.
Our Values
Collective Liberation
We believe our liberation - each person’s agency and self-determination - is bound up with the liberation of others and that we are but one part of a movement for justice that strives to build an anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and joyful future where everyone is free.
Sustainability
We are committed to investing in our people as our most valuable resource, to organizational processes that are emergent, to being adaptable and welcoming change, and to making decisions from a place of courage.
Solidarity
We believe that access to education and reintegration support is a foundational feature of the work we do. We are committed to meeting the material needs of our community members and to resourcing them with the knowledge and tools needed to become agents of change in their own lives.
Care
We come to this work knowing that every one of us has both committed harm, been the recipient of harm, and deserves to be accorded the grace to grow and learn. In rejecting a narrative of disposability, we commit to meeting one another where we are and
to treating one another with care.
Accountability
We are committed to holding ourselves accountable to the needs of our incarcerated and formerly incarcerated community, in particular BIPOC community members. We are also committed to those who hold marginalized identities most impacted by the criminal legal system. We are committed to disrupting systems of oppression in ourselves, our community, and the institutions in which we operate.
Our Vision for Collective Wellness...
We envision a world in which BIPOC, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those impacted by incarceration are not left behind in wellness systems. Where mental, emotional and relational wellness are seen as rights, not luxuries. Where RECLAIM helps shift the narrative from surviving to thriving, from isolation to connection, from stigma to belonging.
Because when one of us heals, we all move toward collective liberation—and that’s why we do this work.
