Ineffective criminal justice system policies have grown bloated prison budgets while leaving many crime survivors and communities most impacted by the justice system without real support or safety. River Consulting worked with the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) to build models and structures that advance its organizing of crime survivors and people living with old records to create safer communities and shape public safety policy.

We worked with ASJ to build complementary organizing models for both Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice and TimeDone, its two separate programs that organize people directly affected by criminal justice system failures. In collaboration with its leaders, we helped clarify the member journey to move people from recruitment into leadership action, providing feedback on their welcome programs and how to funnel new members into offline engagement.

We advised on the multi-division staffing considerations necessary to hit the organization’s membership goals, and built implementation plans for both CSSJ and #TimeDone to expand its volunteer leadership and teams. Finally, we developed a training plan for onboarding new organizing staff in states.