In this issue…
In CT: September Monthly Member Meeting Synopsis
Join us for our next Community-Based Pre-Arrest Diversion Call
In CT: September Monthly Member Meeting Synopsis
Katal team and members discuss resources and opportunities to collaborate with partners from across the Connecticut criminal justice reform field at our office in Hartford.
After a long summer of flyering, tabling, and other base building activities, CT Community Organizers Kenyatta Thompson and Dajuan Wiggins reconvened our Monthly Member Meetings in Connecticut! Representing Stamford, Hartford, Meriden, and more, group members from around the state discussed the issues they cared about, and what brought them to Katal. The group then segued into a conversation about our work in the state on criminal justice reform, housing reform and harm reduction at large. The conversation was led by Katal Members, Leaders and staff. And the room buzzed with positive tension as new members outlined the issues they wanted to get involved in.
Following the discussion of our work, we informed members of our upcoming Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Call, and our Healthy & Just CT coalition meeting. Members expressed interest in being present at both events in the future as Members.
Lastly, the group dove into a discussion on both the Praxis of Community Organizing, and on what it means to be a Katal Member. Both conversations were important to the group, as they helped move participants into action with a unified voice. There was no shortage of laughter, positive tension, and a commitment to changing the status quo.
To learn more about our work in Connecticut and to RSVP for our next Monthly Member Meeting, Thursday, Oct. 10 from 6:00-7:30pm, contact our Senior Community Organizer, Kenyatta Thompson at kthompson@katalcenter.org or 860.937.6094. We hope that we’ll see you there!
Join us for our next Community-Based Pre-Arrest Diversion Call
We invite you to join us Wednesday, September 18 from 3-4:30pm for our next Community-Based Pre-Arrest Diversion call. The monthly calls provide a space for community groups to engage, learn, and grow together around development, implementation of, and accountability for pre-arrest diversion programs and practices to address the problems of mass incarceration, mass criminalization, and institutionalized racism.
Goals for the monthly Community-Based Pre-Arrest Diversion call include:
- Sharing ideas, lessons, and practical tools for community groups working to establish community based diversion programs rooted in health and racial equity;
- Improving municipal based public safety strategies through public health services, harm reduction, and public education;
- Connecting community groups across the with their peers working develop, implement, and sustain accountability in pre-arrest and other diversion projects.
If you are seeking technical support for developing a pre-arrest diversion program in your community, or want to learn about how other community groups are organizing around diversion, please join us!
