Liberty Hill Foundation Announces Grantee Partners for The Liberation Fund: Groundbreaking Initiative to End Incarceration of Girls and Gender Expansive Youth in L.A. County

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Hill Foundation is proud to announce the 2023 grantee partners for The Liberation Fund, a new initiative that invests in community-led solutions to end the incarceration of girls and gender expansive youth in Los Angeles County.  

Liberty Hill created the Liberation Fund to ensure that no young woman or young person across the gender spectrum spends time in youth prisons when they could instead receive more effective, safe, and appropriate support within their local communities.

The newly formed Liberation Fund will prioritize the unique needs of Black, Brown, Indigenous girls of color and gender expansive youth, who comprise approximately 20% of the youth justice population. The grant funding will help grassroots, community-based organizations that work with these specific populations in three main ways: strengthening their ability to operate effectively, creating opportunities for them to come together and collaborate, and supporting the growth and development of their leadership.

As part of the Liberation Fund, these 10 selected community organizations will work cross-collaboratively to address the root causes of incarceration unique to girls and gender expansive youth, including housing instability, sexual and physical violence, child welfare involvement, and the school to prison pipeline.

We are excited to announce our Liberation Fund Grantee Partners!

• A New Way of Life
• Alliance for Girls
• Arts for Healing & Justice Network
• Beloved Youth
• Khmer Girls in Action
• National Center for Youth Law
• New Village Girls Academy
• Spirit Awakening Foundation
• Students Deserve
• Young Women's Freedom Center

The Liberation Fund grant program will provide an opportunity for these community-based organizations who are experts in youth development, legal advocacy, and organizing to prioritize the unique experiences of girls and gender expansive youth and create strategies that meet their needs while simultaneously addressing the systemic failures and practices that harm them. 

"I vividly remember the moment when a youth organizer shared their vision for true liberation—not just opening the doors of the cages, not just freedom from an oppressive system," said Liberty Hill President and CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith. "They shared a vision of freedom, one where individuals could chase their dreams, experience safety and love, breathe clean air, have a roof over their heads, and possess the means for self-determination and collective struggle. This is why we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting community-led initiatives such as the Liberation Fund." 

To learn more about the Liberty Hill Foundation and the Liberation Fund initiative, visit http://www.libertyhill.org/. 

About Liberty Hill Foundation
Liberty Hill Foundation is a laboratory for social change philanthropy. We leverage the power of community organizers, donor activists, and allies to advance social justice through strategic investment in grants, leadership training, and campaigns. We envision a society in which all people have a powerful voice, including those currently shut out of our democracy, people cut off from opportunities because of their skin color, gender or sexual orientation, where they live, or where they were born. We will not rest until society provides justice and equality for all.

SOURCE Liberty Hill Foundation