Melissa Sweet

UPDATE, JUNE 5. This campaign is in its final hours - if we don't meet the target by 7pm on Sunday June 7, the pledges will not be realised, and the project will not go ahead.

Please take the time to read more below about the campaign and why it matters. Watch a final call-out for help from Summer May Finlay here.

And thanks to @TheKooriWoman for her suggestion:




For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the justice system in Australia is not fair. This is a major public health issue that merits widespread attention - and action.

The #JustJustice project developed out of conversations with Aboriginal health leaders, including Dr Tom Calma and Mick Gooda, about the devastating effects of over-incarceration upon the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, families and communities.

The campaign will fund a series of articles at the public health blog Croakey, running over several months. (Croakey runs on a very small budget, so we wouldn't be able to fund this series without your help).

These articles will then be packaged into an e-book for wide distribution to politicians, policy makers, educators - and anyone who wants a copy.

The series will take a solutions-focused approach to investigating the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Articles will be written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health experts, policy experts, criminal justice experts, researchers, and journalists.

Importantly, the series will provide funding and support for community members to tell their stories.

We want politicians, policy makers and the general public to understand that over-incarceration is a critical public health issue that requires urgent action informed by evidence-based solutions and community leadership.

You can find out more about the need for %23JustJustice by checking out the Change the Record campaign, which was launched on 30 April by the National Justice Coalition, a group of leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights and community organisations working together to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.

And make sure to watch #JustJustice team member, Summer May Finlay, talk about her hopes for #JustJustice:





*************************************************

WHO ARE WE?

The #JustJustice team is:

• Summer May Finlay - @OnTopicAus - a Yorta Yorta woman, public health professional and a PhD candidate.
• Marie McInerney - @mariemcinerney - an experienced editor and journalist who specialises in covering social policy, and is a moderator at Croakey.
• Melissa Sweet - @croakeyblog - a public health journalist, the founder of Croakey blog and the rotated curated account @WePublicHealth, and a PhD candidate.
• Mitchell Ward - @rocklilydesign - a graphic designer and web developer.

Luke Pearson - @LukeLPearson - founder of the ground-breaking, rotated curated account @IndigenousX - is social media consultant to the campaign.

We also hope to work with a range of other writers, including:
• Kelly Briggs - @TheKooriWoman - who has previously crowd-funded a series of articles at Croakey.
• Dr Tim Senior - @timsenior - who has previously crowd-funded a series of Wonky Health columns at Croakey.
• Dameyon Bonson - @DameyonBonson - founder of the crowd-funded Black Rainbow Living Well – For Indigenous LGBQTI Suicide Prevention.



************************************************

A PROJECT OF MANY PARTS

The #JustJustice project will have six main components:

1. Articles by experts that HIGHLIGHT CRITICAL AREAS FOR CHANGE in policy and practice, and also initiatives that are successful in reducing incarceration rates.

2. Investigative journalism articles highlighting some of THE WAYS FORWARD and blockages in the political and policy arenas, as well as profiling community initiatives.

3. Articles/podcasts/short YouTube clips from community members highlighting THE IMPACT OF CURRENT POLICIES upon people, families and communities (community members will be paid for contributing their stories).

4. Infographics and Internet memes to provide CATCHY, VISUAL REPRESENTATION of some of the key issues.

5. The rotated curated Twitter accounts @IndigenousX and @WePublicHealth will work in with the project, to help AMPLIFY THE VOICE AND STORIES that are being told.

6. At the conclusion of the series, all articles and related material will be packaged into an interactive PDF/e-book that will be made FREELY AVAILABLE AND WIDELY DISTRIBUTED.

MORE DETAILS can be found at the #JustJustice homepage at Croakey.

***************************************************

Follow our news at #JustJustice on Twitter.

Here are our Twitter analytics from April 6-June5




And here are some of the people joining the #JustJustice conversation.


******

See some of the tweets about #JustJustice (see more at the bottom of the page)

Who is talking about #JustJustice?

Media coverage of #JustJustice

The crowd-funding project will seek to raise at least $25,000 for the campaign, plus an additional $2,500 to cover administration and related costs and charges, including the rewards.

The funds will be distributed:

• 50 per cent to the #JustJustice team, i.e. $12,500 in total. Each member will receive 10 per cent i.e. $2,500 (after administration and related costs): Summer May Finlay, Marie McInerney, Luke Pearson, Mitchell Ward, and Melissa Sweet.

• 10 per cent ie $2,500 distributed between authors Dr Tim Senior, Kelly Briggs, and Dameyon Bonson.

• 40 per cent ie $10,000 in total, to community members for contributing their stories (Luke, Summer, Kelly and Dameyon may also be involved in this component and so receive part of these funds as well).

The main challenge will be getting the word out when there are so many other pressing concerns for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. We plan to work collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and health networks to help get the word out. We will also approach mainstream health organisations and the wider health community to support the campaign.