Brilliant Corners joined the Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership (LARRP) and Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ) for an exciting community event, Voices of Change. Held at the California Endowment, the event brought together over 200 attendees for a town hall featuring local reform leaders and community voices from across Los Angeles County, as well as panels on voter engagement, community safety, and more. We opened the day with a keynote on reentry and justice reform in Los Angeles County featuring Brilliant Corners’ Director of External Affairs, Jose Osuna; Judge Songhai Armstead, Director of the LA County Justice, Care and Opportunities Department; and Ricardo D. García, Los Angeles County Public Defender.
Attendees then delved into strategies for supporting successful reentry, including the importance of stable and affordable housing as a foundation for people returning home after incarceration. Brilliant Corners External Affairs Associate, Kayana Tyson was featured on a panel entitled “Your Vote, Your Power: Civic Engagement 101,” alongside Ed Little, California Government Affairs Manager, Californians for Safety and Justice; Megan Castillo, Coalition Coordinator, ReimagineLA / LA Defensa; Natalya Romo, Senior Justice Deputy, Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell; Jason Garcia, Reentry Program Manager at Office of Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass; and Charles Vignola, Public Policy and Community Engagement Manager, LARRP.
Troy Vaughn, CEO & Co-Founder, LARRP, led a breakout session titled “What Actually Keeps Us Safe?” where community leaders, reentry advocates, and people with lived experience reframed what public safety actually looks like. Attendees heard from Doug Bond, President and CEO of Amity Foundation; Tinisch Hollins, Executive Director of Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ); Gilbert Johnson, Director of Strategic Reentry Initiatives at Office of Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass; Veronica Lewis, Managing Director, ChangeMaker Consulting; and John Mathews II, Chief of Staff, Los Angeles County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia.
Throughout the day, the theme of housing as a critical part of a thriving community was woven through every conversation. LA County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia spoke at length about how housing must be part of the pathway towards successful reentry.
“If we are serious about a successful reentry process, we must talk honestly about housing. First and foremost, more than 75% of the people in Los Angeles County who are unhoused have had contact with the criminal legal system, and many experience that in a recurring fashion. That tells us something really important — housing is not just another service, it is infrastructure. It’s difficult to keep a job when you don’t have a place to live. When you don’t know where you’re going to be sleeping that night. It’s difficult to attend treatment when you’re moving from place to place. It’s difficult to reconnect with your children when you don’t have a stable place for them to come. Housing is the foundation upon which so many other forms of stability depend. You can’t come back to community if that coming back means homelessness. And you cannot call that success if that’s your definition of reentry.” – Ricardo García, Los Angeles County Public Defender
The event continued with a candidate town hall featuring state senate candidate Sara Rascon; Andre Spicer, candidate for Mayor of Compton; and Bennie Tinson, candidate for Compton City Council. At the candidate town hall, attendees had an opportunity to hear from candidates seeking public office sit down with this community for a moderated conversation about the issues that matter most: housing, reentry, employment, and community safety. Senate candidate Sara Rascon, Andre Spicer, and Bennie Tinson shared their vision and priorities, and answered questions directly from community members
Breaking Barriers participant Nicolas shared a moving testimony at the townhall about how housing has made his success possible.
“When I finally came home, I didn’t have some perfect plan waiting for me. I needed stability. I needed somewhere safe to live so I can actually have a chance to do something different. Breaking Barriers and Brilliant Corners gave me that chance. Housing gave me somewhere to plant my feet. It gave me the opportunity to focus on recovery, go back to school, become a rising scholar, a graduate, and a UCLA Underground Scholars ambassador.
I’m standing here because programs like this are working. When we talk about funding Breaking Barriers, we’re not just talking about paying somebody’s rent — we’re talking about giving somebody coming home a real chance to stay out, recover, get educated, find employment, rebuild relationships, become a leader, and get back to their communities.
I want people to understand something. Housing didn’t do the work for me. It gave me the stability to finally do the work for myself. There’s a big difference when somebody has a safe place to sleep, they can start thinking about tomorrow instead of just surviving tonight. That stability can be the difference between going back into the system and actually building a future. I’m living proof of what can happen when somebody gets that opportunity.”
Following Nicolas’ testimony, Dustin Trail, Case Manager at Brilliant Corners, posed a powerful question to the candidates, asking how they would commit to supporting Fair Chance Housing initiatives, and what policy changes and investments they would make to expand reentry housing and resources.
Candidates also heard questions from community members about employment, community safety, and expungement.
Troy Vaughn, CEO & Co-Founder, LARRP, closed the event with reflections on the day and a powerful call to action: how to stay engaged, stay connected, and carry the voices of change forward into the election season and beyond.
