Healing Dialogue and Action

Uniting for healing and change.

Healing Dialogue and Action 2019 Transformative Justice Symposium

Nora, a survivor who lost her son to homicide, sits down with Desmond, a man sentenced to life in prison at age 16.

In Healing Dialogues we share our stories and listen deeply with open hearts.

Healing Dialogue and Action is an organization that creates healing spaces and advocacy opportunities for family survivors of homicide, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, and communities affected by violent crime.

We advance transformative justice through education, advocacy, and healing while working towards a world free from violence.

Healing Dialogue and Action’s unique approach to healing bridges adversarial divides between victims and offenders to create space for compassion and sharing without judgement.

What people say about their experience with Healing Dialogue and Action:

“The system, prosecutors, and attorneys tell us that victims are on one road and offenders are on another…I think now there has to be a third way, one where we work together.”

A woman whose son was murdered

“I’ve spent so long feeling disconnected from society…Healing Dialogue and Action helped me come out of my shell so I can be a more productive member of society.”

A woman whose brother was sent to prison for life

“I used to tell my children, ‘A bad man killed your uncle.’ After today, I will need to tell them something different. ‘A person made a terrible mistake and killed your uncle.”

A man whose brother was murdered

Healing Dialogue and Action creates opportunities for action and leadership.

For many, action is a part of healing. We work together to change the criminal justice system so it is one that offers an opportunity for transformation for victims, offenders, and families. Healing Dialogue and Action seeks to meet the needs of those most harmed by crime and criminal justice systems and to bring important voices to the debate about reform.

For more than a generation, the discussion of criminal justice has been impassioned, adversarial, and often angry. Many have insisted the interests of victims and defendants are absolutely opposed and mutually exclusive. Healing Dialogue and Action crosses those divides.

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Executive Director, Javier Stauring, speaks on the importance of criminal justice reform that prioritizes healing at the 2017 Day of Empathy in Sacramento.

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