Healing Justice: Breaking Cycles of Trauma, Poverty & Incarceration

By Donald Frazier, CEO of BOSS

Trauma is an experience that lingers. It shapes how we move, how we trust, and how we see ourselves in the world.

For decades, I’ve worked alongside those surviving systemic violence, incarceration, displacement, and generational poverty. —Donald Frazier, CEO, BOSS.

I have seen resilience. I have seen transformation. And I have seen what happens when people are given the resources, space, and support they need to reclaim their lives.

But let me be clear—healing doesn’t just happen. Healing, like justice, requires action.

Healing Justice Is The Missing Link

We talk about public safety, but safety isn’t just the absence of crime—it’s the presence of stability, access, and opportunity. True justice is not just about stopping or preventing harm. It’s about healing the harm that has already been done.

That’s why we must invest in:

✔ Trauma Recovery Centers (TRCs): Mental health, therapy, and crisis intervention.

✔ Substance Use & Behavioral Health Services: Treating addiction as a public health issue, not a crime.

✔ Employment & Economic Stability: Job training, fair wages, and financial literacy to prevent recidivism.

✔ Housing First Initiatives: Stable housing as the foundation for rebuilding lives.

✔ Violence Intervention Programs: Community-based de-escalation and mentorship.

We don’t stop violence by locking people away. We stop violence by investing in healing, opportunity, and dignity.

The Reality of Mass Incarceration & Over-Policing

✔ Mass incarceration is the result of policy failure—not a rise in crime.

✔ The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world - over 1.9 million, an increase of over 500% over the past 40 years

✔ 1 in 5 Californians (an estimated 8 million people) are still living with an old criminal record

✔ Recidivism rates remain high because returning citizens are denied access to jobs, housing, and healthcare.

When people talk about crime, they rarely talk about the root causes. 

Instead of fixing broken systems, we criminalize those who are failed by them. We police poverty instead of addressing it.

This is by design.

The real question isn’t why people struggle after incarceration—it’s why we keep setting them up to fail.

Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration & Poverty

What we know works:

✔ Reentry Housing Programs: Providing stability for returning citizens.

✔ Entrepreneurship & Workforce Training: Creating self-sufficiency.

✔ Mentorship & Community Healing Circles: Addressing past trauma and preventing future harm.

What we must demand:

✔ Policy Reform: End mass incarceration & eliminate policies that criminalize poverty.

✔ Community Investment: Funding for trauma recovery, mental health, and violence prevention.

✔ Narrative Change: Replacing fear-based narratives with stories of resilience and transformation.

There is nothing inevitable about injustice. There is nothing permanent about systemic harm. These are policy choices, and we have the power to demand better.

If we truly want justice, we have to do more than demand it. We have to build it. So, what now?

✔ Educate yourself. Learn how mass incarceration is fueled by systemic racism and economic disinvestment.

✔ Advocate. Contact lawmakers and push for trauma-informed, community-led solutions.

✔ Support the work. Organizations like BOSS are on the frontlines, but we need YOU.

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