Destination: Liberation

Detroit Heals Detroit is launching an initiative to bring radical healing to formerly incarcerated Detroit youth by utilizing travel and youth organizing as a form of resistance in order to reach liberation.

Purpose:

This program exists to empower system-impacted/system-involved youth by centering healing justice, abolitionist practices, and youth leadership as tools for liberation and systemic transformation. It seeks to dismantle carceral systems that harm Black and marginalized communities while building youth-led alternatives rooted in healing, economic justice, and community power. By providing political education, economic self-determination, and radical healing spaces, this initiative equips young people with the skills, knowledge, and networks to challenge systemic oppression and reimagine futures beyond incarceration, surveillance, and punishment.

Vision:

The vision of this project is a world where youth, particularly those impacted by criminalization, are leaders in shaping just and liberated communities. Instead of cycles of trauma and incarceration, young people have access to healing-centered education, economic opportunities, and transformative justice alternatives that allow them to thrive.

All Participants receive a $2000 stipend upon completion of program. Must be aged 18 to 23 to participate.

This initiative is a Travel Immersion Initiative for Formerly Incarcerated Detroit Youth.

No nation has locked up more of its own people per capita than the US. Our goal in this 12-week program is to give these young people their purpose and power back that society otherwise would have tried to take away from them, indefinitely. Giving them a piece of their power back that essentially undercuts the likelihood of recidivism. By investing in youth-led movement-building, this project envisions a future where:

Carceral systems are obsolete, replaced by community-driven models of safety, accountability, and care.
Healing is a radical act of resistance, where youth reclaim their power and agency.
Liberation is the standard, not the exception, for Black and historically over-criminalized communities.
Youth are architects of change, leading advocacy efforts, designing abolitionist policies, and building economic pathways free from systemic oppression.
Access and attainability

At its core, this initiative is about shifting power to young people—ensuring that those most impacted by harm are at the forefront of reimagining justice, building alternatives, and leading movements toward collective freedom.

Thanks to the generous support of The Navigation Fund and the Andrus Family Fund, this program is being offered to our young people at no cost!

Throughout the 12-week program, 10 participants will have the opportunity to develop their hard & soft skills for job readiness, lead community impact projects that will increase their connection to community and travel to liberatory sites throughout the United States.

At the culmination of this program, participants will gather in Puerto Rico to connect with youth organizers on the ground to power build and share strategies.

Please submit the following form below by June 1st to be considered for the program.

Please contact us at detroithealsdetroit@gmail.com if you know have any questions.