Celebrating the First Graduating Cohort of the ATI Incubation Academy
4.04.2022
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LISC StoriesSafety & Justice
There was the formerly incarcerated leader who started an organization to provide housing for others as they return home from prison. The non-profit executive who grew up watching her father give food and shelter to anyone in need, and now continues his work. The founder and executive director who found herself homeless after a stint in prison and has now created a home for others who are living on the street.
The first cohort of the Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) Incubation Academy, including these leaders and others from across the County, with a few hundred years of collective service, joined together on the steps of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles recently to be celebrated for the tireless work they do servicing justice-involved people.
Left to Right: Judge Songhai Armstead, Dr. Carl Highshaw with The AMAAD Institute and LISC Executive Director Tunua Thrash-Ntuk
The group was joined by ATI Executive Director Judge Songhai Armstead and LISC Executive Director Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, who presented certificates of completion to those that completed the first phase of the program, which is designed to build the capacity of BIPOC-led community organizations to deliver prevention and intervention services to justice-involved individuals.
Supporting community-based service providers is foundational to justice reform efforts and crucial to furthering the county’s “care first, jails last” vision, they told the group. The county needs leaders like them, who understand the specific needs and can tailor services, at the forefront of providing alternatives to incarceration.
Due to the pandemic, the cohort met entirely online and most participants had not ever met in person. The gathering, while a small token of appreciation for their work, also served as way to build connection and strengthen the ecosystem of community-based providers.
The program aims to build upon the strengths of the organizations and put resources toward their growth.
“It was such an opportunity to learn so much in such a short amount of time. The Academy gave me the tools and confidence I needed to go back and be an effective leader,” said Toni Bryant, Founder and Executive Director of M.E.N.T.O.R.S, Inc.
As the ceremony concluded, Alex Sanchez, the Executive Director of Homies Unidos, who is participating in our 2nd Incubation Academy cohort, happened to walk by the ceremony and watched with a smile as certificates were handed out. Sanchez and leaders from 26 other organizations began their cohort this month. The group includes a wide variety of service providers from across the county, from Lancaster to Long Beach and Pomona to the Westside.
Soon, we’ll be celebrating them as well.
