"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
— James Baldwin
Accountability Through Transparency
Independent Oversight of ADCRR
Praxis Initiative helped lead the campaign to create Arizona's Office of Correctional Oversight. Our work now focuses on funding, implementation, public education, family engagement, legislative accountability, and ensuring that oversight remains independent, meaningful, and accessible.
Key Activities
- —Legislative advocacy
- —Coalition coordination
- —Public education
- —Family and community engagement
- —Oversight implementation monitoring
- —Policy analysis
- —Media and public messaging
Systemic Change Across Every Stage
Criminal Legal System Reform
Praxis works to reduce unnecessary incarceration, expand second chances, improve sentencing policy, support home confinement reform, and challenge practices that keep people trapped in cycles of punishment without improving public safety. This work includes drug policy advocacy, overdose prevention, public health approaches to substance use, and broader legislative advocacy across the criminal legal system.
Key Activities
- —Sentencing reform
- —Home confinement advocacy
- —Reentry policy
- —Probation and parole reform
- —Drug policy and overdose prevention
- —Public health approaches to substance use
- —Legal education
- —Coalition support
- —Legislative analysis
Opportunity, Readiness, and Civic Power
Skills Training for Returning Citizens
Praxis trains returning citizens to understand government, tell their stories strategically, engage lawmakers, use digital advocacy tools, and participate in public policy without being tokenized. Our training programs are growing quickly and represent a major forward-looking initiative centered on opportunity, workforce readiness, civic engagement, and modern skills.
Key Activities
- —Digital Literacy for Returning Citizens
- —Digital Literacy for Returning Citizens age 50+
- —Core Civics and Advocacy Training
- —Intro to AI for Returning Citizens
- —Practical AI for Returning Citizens (advanced)
- —Storytelling strategy
- —Public comment training
- —Coalition participation
Creativity as Rehabilitation
Arts in Prison
Praxis supports arts programming inside Arizona prisons because music, movement, creativity, and disciplined practice help people build identity, connection, emotional regulation, and purpose. Our flagship programs include Think Motion, led by Dr. Susan Bendix, and the Music Theory Initiative, modeled after a peer-led program founded by John Fabricius during incarceration.
Key Activities
- —Think Motion — therapeutic movement and creative engagement
- —Music Theory Initiative — peer-led music education
- —Tablet-based learning modules
- —Correspondence education
- —In-person workshops where possible
- —Visual arts, writing, theater, and other creative outlets
- —Inside/outside community connection