#AliveKC is an initiative of Alive & Well Communities (AWC) that is raising awareness around racial justice issues stemming from communal and historical trauma. We are creating change through story in the Kansas City metro area, uplifting innovative solutions in the areas of restorative justice, Black women entrepreneurship, family preservation efforts, community decision-making, and community mobilization. Feel free to reach out to us with your questions by either calling (816) 482-3465 or emailing info@awcommunities.org.
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Creating Change Through Restorative Justice
Reggie Berry and Sarah Eblen are Senior Restorative Justice Coordinators for the Kansas City Public School District. Reggie and Sarah co-created the Restorative Justice Department at Southeast High School after initially serving the school as classroom teachers. Restorative Justice is an effective, alternative approach to discipline in which parties address harm, take accountability, and repair relationships to build safer school environments for everyone. Restorative justice regularly intersects with trauma-informed approaches, as both emphasize uplifting the dignity of persons, doing no harm, and restoration over punitive measures.
Creating Change Through Black Women Entrepreneurship
Nika Cotton is the owner of Soulcentricitea Tea Room on Troost in Kansas City, MO. As a single mother, she decided to start a socially-conscious business in 2020 that is grounded in womanist practices and activism. Her mission is to provide hope, healing, and restoration to the community. She is actively empowering Black business owners and bringing their voices to the table to resist gentrification and leverage capital.
Creating Change Through Family Preservation Advocacy
Samantha Mungai is a Kenyan-American DACA recipient and resident of Johnson County, Kansas. She became an immigration justice advocate after experiencing ICE detention in the midst of another injustice - the termination of her parental rights through the Clay County Family Court system. Samantha’s experiences have led her to become an advocate for families and immigrants who are being traumatized from our country’s legal systems.
Creating Change Through Community Voice
Chandra Green is the Director of Alive and Thrive Wyandotte County, a network of organizations and individuals that stimulates and supports grassroots-driven actions to help communities prevent and heal from trauma in Wyandotte County. She is a member of the Alive & Well KC Steering Committee. Her work aims to uplift Wyandotte County residents as trauma-informed decision-makers, namely by coordinating community trauma trainings with a focus on ACES and Community Trauma and community-driven projects and bringing resident voices to decision-making tables at the neighborhood, institutional, and government levels.
Creating Change Through Community Mobilization
As a community mobilizer, Valeria Espadas empowers the Latino community in Wyandotte County, KS to become civically engaged, know their rights, and advocate for their communities. She connects her day-to-day work to her experiences growing up in the KC metro, where she experienced discrimination and surveillance based on her family’s immigration status. She is now mobilizing Latino people in Wyandotte County to pass “Safe & Welcoming Wyandotte”, a two-part ordinance to create a municipal ID and mandate ICE noncompliance with local law enforcement.
Creando Cambios A Traves De La Movilizacion Comunitaria
Testimonio de Valeria Espadas en española
