This summer, I’m interning at the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center.
The SWDCJC is an alternative justice jail diversion center which aims to combat the root inequities that lead to incarceration through their programming. Every Wednesday, we facilitate a community court program with Detroit’s 4th Precinct that eliminates the fines and jail time associated with low-level misdemeanors, opting instead to assign community service. We serve a primarily Latino community and provide referral services to other non-profit organizations as well.
My role primarily includes conducting research for grant proposals and graphic design tasks. My research aims to identify target areas where more support programs would be beneficial to the community and how they would make an impact.
Seeing that we are located in a primarily latin area, the support that SWDCJC provides is particularly important in order to target the hardships faced through language and citizenship that may result in involvement with the criminal justice system. We are the only program of its kind in the state of Michigan and are proud of the work we do to combat structural injustice in our justice system.
My experience with DCERP so far has been incredibly enjoyable. I’ve loved meeting all of the smart and passionate people and hearing about their projects. The city of Detroit has so much to offer, so I’m looking forward to getting out and exploring more.
