Silicon Valley De-Bug

Silicon Valley De-Bugs three community programs are as follows:Media and StorytellingDe-Bug believes story-telling and media creation is a vehicle for individual transformation and can shape the way issues and moments are understood, conceptualized, and imagined by the larger public. To facilitate this process, De-Bug produces a bi-lingual magazine, a multimedia website, and a multitude of other media products drawing upon the creativity, analysis, and innovation of our community. And though our media products are delivered through numerous forms (such as articles, videos, books, music, art, and design) De-Bugs story-telling is driven by a guiding principle that those most proximate to the issue can share the most powerful, captivating, and insightful story.Participatory DefenseThrough De-Bugs organizing model, the Organization launched the Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project (ACJP), an innovative program that enables families and communities to have an impact on their local juvenile and criminal justice systems. Led by the very families impacted by the court systems, De-Bug originated participatory defense a community organizing model for youth, families, and community members to impact the outcome of cases and transform the landscape of power in the court system. The participatory defense framework combines multiple strategies including case advocacy, leadership development of youth and families affected by the justice system, and community organizing to develop and implement equitable justice policies. Since 2008, De-Bugs participatory defense activities have resulted in 10,208 years of time saved potential court sentences and incarceration time to youth and community members. The tremendous power of participatory defense has contributed to families being made whole, loved ones home, and numerous youths going to college instead of spending their transitional years in prison. Because De-Bugs organizational compass has always been guided by the ones most affected by the criminal justice system, their organizing campaigns have been led, championed, and won by the very families touched by the criminal justice system. Through the leadership of De-Bug families, theyve won changes in policing, charging of gang enhancements, separation of immigration and criminal justice policies, and improvements of conditions in detention. Nationally, they have built a field. De-Bug has grown our Participatory Defense Network from 11 hubs to now over 40 all trained in the principles, strategies, and tactics of participatory defense. At any given day of the week, there is a participatory defense meeting happening around the country, where families are supporting each other to navigate through the criminal, juvenile and immigration systems that threaten to tear families apart. And they are winning keeping families and communities whole, while fueling a ground up movement to end mass incarceration.Community OrganizingDe-Bugs community organizing work is an expression of our youth and families directions, and often where our story-telling work is applied. The participants come in the form of goal-oriented campaigns aimed at making system-wide changes that can measurably change the lives of those within De-Bug as well as the larger community. Their campaigns have been local policy-setting, state legislation, and moving the national political landscape. Led by youth and families most directly impacted by the issues they address, they have campaigns to:Push for alternatives to incarceration and detention that prioritize rehabilitation, services, programs and counselingPush for protections for tenants from unjust evictionsCall for law enforcement accountability and stop police killingsChallenge racist criminal justice policies and practices that fuel mass incarceration