South Phoenix groups brainstorm about ‘justice reinvestment’ funds

As Arizona prepares to release its first round of “justice reinvestment” funds generated by marijuana legalization, south Phoenix organizations are coming up with ideas for how this money should be spent. 

Two of these organizations, Project Roots and TigerMountain Foundation, are part of a larger network of Arizona-based organizations envisioning what justice reinvestment programs can be.

They aim to help the Arizona Department of Health Services get a better sense of how to distribute millions of dollars in grants.

Rosalind Akins said she hopes to see justice reinvestment money support food access and mental health.

“And mental health does not necessarily mean get them to a practitioner, a psychologist, or a therapist,” she said at a DHS-funded listening session TigerMountain Foundation recently hosted at Brooks Academy in south Phoenix. “It could include that, but there’s other things that bring joy and healing to such a disparate community.”

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