Crime Survivors Speak

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, host Aswad Thomas sits down with Sommer Alexander, Texas Chapter Coordinator for TimeDone and a Reentry Peer Support Specialist with the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. Drawing from her own lived experience with victimization, incarceration, and reentry, Sommer shares how gaps in support for survivors can too often become pathways into criminalization—what is known as the victimization to pr...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, Aswad Thomas sits down with restorative justice leader Ghani Songster, who spent 30 years in prison after being sentenced to life without parole as a teenager and has since become one of the nation’s most visionary voices on healing and accountability. Ghani reflects on why hope is not a luxury but a necessity, and how restorative justice creates what our current system cannot: honest dialo...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, Aswad Thomas sits down with California-based advocate Enako Jefferson, a survivor, mentor, and co-CEO of the Jireh Shalom Foundation. Enako’s story is one of deep faith, loss, and transformation—a journey that has shaped her life’s mission to bring healing to both survivors of violence and those who have caused harm. Drawing from her personal experience and decades of advocacy, Enako speak...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, survivor advocate and community leader Elle Travis joins Aswad Thomas for a powerful conversation about survival, systemic failure, and the urgent need for change. A survivor of sexual violence, Elle shares how her own experience—compounded by the Detroit rape kit backlog and harmful biases within the justice system—led her to found Hands on Healing Detroit, a grassroots organization that s...

Survivors have a unique perspective that can drive meaningful change in policy. In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, host Aswad Thomas speaks with Dion Green, a survivor of the Dayton mass shooting that claimed his father's life. Dion shares his journey from trauma to advocacy, discussing the importance of survivor resources, community healing, and the establishment of the Fudge Foundation in his father's memory. The conversat...

In this episode, we sit down with Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick to discuss the need for restorative forms of justice that center healing for survivors. Rafiah shares how the tragic loss of her son inspired her to create Rodney’s Village, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing violence and supporting teenage parents. While reflecting on the power of storytelling as advocacy, Aswad and Rafiah recount a powerful moment they shared at this ye...

In this episode, Ingrid Archie, the Organizing Director for TimeDone, shares her journey from a childhood shaped by the War on Drugs in LA to becoming a fierce advocate for formerly incarcerated women. As a mother and domestic violence survivor, Ingrid endured years of trauma that led to her cycling in and out of prisons and losing custody of her children. But thanks to Ingrid’s tireless advocacy, Prop 47 offered her a...

In this episode, Anthony DiMartino dives into his journey into criminal justice reform, highlighting the transformative power of survivor stories to drive policy change. He reveals the secrets to building strong relationships with legislators through shared values, active listening, and showing up consistently. By centering the voices of those most impacted, Anthony shares effective strategies for achieving long-term policy change ...

In this special episode of the Crime Survivors Speak Podcast, we take a moment to turn the microphone towards our own producer, Annie Nichol, whose personal journey is rooted in the very foundation of survivor advocacy and storytelling. As a survivor of a high-profile crime that reshaped the national conversation on justice, Annie brings a unique perspective to the sensationalism often found in media narratives around crime and vic...

This week’s episode focuses on the incredible story of Kojo Mensah, a former professional basketball player who turned a personal tragedy into his inspiration to help revitalize an entire community.

Born in Ghana and raised in the United States, Kojo's promising basketball career was tragically cut short by gun violence at his college campus, an event that not only left him and his teammates physically w...

In a profoundly moving episode, we sit down with Vanessa Martinez, an Arizonian survivor leader who turned tragedy into advocacy. Vanessa opens up about the harrowing day she suffered a gunshot wound to the head in a domestic violence incident that was tragically witnessed by one of her children. As she grappled with the physical and emotional aftermath, an already dire situation was made worse by a system that denied her victim co...

Bertha Purnell is a tireless advocate, founder of Mothers On A Mission 28, and the Chicago Chapter Coordinator for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. Driven by the tragic loss of her son Maurice to gun violence, Bertha has dedicated herself to creating a network of support and services for survivors and their families in Illinois. In this episode, Bertha opens up about the motivation behind starting Mothers On A Mission 28—a g...

Aswad Thomas is a familiar voice in advocating for survivors–and a familiar voice on this podcast. But not everyone knows the profound journey that brought Aswad to be the National Director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. In this episode, guest interviewer Jonathon Lewis flips the script to ask Aswad about his survivor story and path to leadership. From growing up in communities marked by crime and poverty, Aswad defied...

 Yolanda Jennings is an organizer from Philadelphia, where she works to support survivors recovering from domestic violence. Having lost multiple family members to domestic violence and being a survivor of DV herself, Yolanda has seen where the system fails to help people trying to escape intimate partner abuse and is co-creating the solutions that allow people to rebuild their lives after violence. Yolanda talks about her experien...

Alex Abboud is a licensed social worker and victims advocate who has spent her professional life finding new ways to provide services and support for victims and survivors recovering from harm.

From developing the first social work response model for the city of Detroit to becoming CSSJ's Statewide Manager of Pennsylvania, Alex has extensive experience both providing direct services to survivors in the immediate aftermath of trauma...

Jonathon Lewis has spent his career organizing folks from marginalized communities to demand a greater voice in policy making. From working on the Obama campaign in Ohio to advocating for teachers and educational equality in his home state of Texas, Jonathon is now the National Training Director for CSSJ, where he works to provide survivors leaders with the tools to build a new movement of safety, justice, and healing. In this conv...