THE ELSO APPROACH

ELSO Criminal Justice Statement

ELSO is a Black and Brown led community-based organization. As such, our practices are informed by Black and Brown cultures. We are an organization that focuses on STEAM and environmental education. However, we cannot do this work without confronting the very human impact of systems of oppression. 

As an organization we value restoration, relationship, justice, community, and repair. We have seen a cognitive dissonance of social justice work aimed at a collectivist mindset but from an individualistic perspective. Such that many communities and organizations will “throw away a person” without fully weighing their potential for positive impact to the whole solely based on face value transgressions (i.e. cancel culture). ELSO’s stance on criminal justice comes from a person-first perspective where the humanity of each person is valued on an individual, organizational, and communal level.

ELSO must have an intersectional approach to how we think of social justice in all its forms. To borrow from Just Leadership, “We can’t skip seeing the dehumanization of people who are currently or formerly incarcerated. We can’t omit seeing the persistent harms. We can’t miss the prejudicial narratives in the media about formerly and currently incarcerated people. We can’t ignore the disparities among Black, brown, people of color, and whites.

And finally, we can’t deny when viewing from a race-based lens who benefits — and who has historically benefited — the most, as it relates to civil rights, liberties, and freedoms to simply be.”

ELSO hires employees, contractors, interns, and work alongside volunteers and community partners who have all been vetted with due diligence using our mission, values, and JEDI principles as our lens. ELSO makes intentional decisions from hiring to community partnerships on a case-by-case basis which prioritizes mission alignment, keeping families safe, tending to impact, reducing and repairing harm. ELSO's team is a testament to our values as an organization.