People have their own power and visions for change. People power is the foundation of community advocacy. Our community advocacy work leverages (1) Know Your Rights and safe bystander education to prevent crisis and prepare community for high-risk situations, (2) support system-impacted individuals and their loved ones as they navigate complex legal landscapes, and (3) community organizing through narrative control and impact storytelling. We provide direct, trauma-informed support to those impacted by the carceral state and help people move from crisis to empowerment—building safety through care, not control.
Know Your Rights
Know Your Rights training is foundational to Denver Justice Project’s preventative work. These trainings equip community members with clear, accessible information about their legal rights and how to safely navigate interactions with law enforcement — knowledge that can make the difference between a routine encounter and one that escalates into harm. We work with vulnerable and directly impacted populations, as well as allies who want to show up for their neighbors, ensuring rights education reaches the people who need it most and the people who can help protect them.
As threats to our communities have evolved, so has this training. We’ve expanded our Know Your Rights curriculum to include guidance on interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, giving immigrant families and their allies the tools to understand their rights and protect themselves and their loved ones in an increasingly hostile immigration enforcement landscape.
Participatory Defense
Participatory defense is a core piece of our Community Advocacy work — a direct service where we walk alongside families and individuals impacted by the criminal legal system or immigration detention, one case at a time. We help families navigate the complexity of the system with a clear, strategic approach: attending court dates, coordinating with legal teams, organizing community and public support, and ensuring families never have to face the system alone. This work is rooted in the understanding that people closest to harm are best positioned to lead their own advocacy, with DJP providing the strategy, resources, and community power to support them.
Continued Care
Our commitment to families doesn’t end when a case does. Denver Justice Project provides continued care and wraparound support to families after legal proceedings conclude — because a verdict, whatever it is, doesn’t erase the trauma, grief, or ongoing needs a family carries forward. This includes sustained advocacy, connection to resources, and continued relationship and support long after the courtroom doors close, ensuring families have a partner in the after as much as during.
Impact Storytelling & Narrative Control
Denver Justice Project uses narrative control and storytelling to reclaim official accounts that too often erase or distort the humanity of those harmed by the criminal legal system. We work to humanize people who are victims of systemic violence and harm, telling their stories on their own terms rather than through the lens of police reports or headlines shaped by bias. This work also brings public attention to cases that might otherwise go unnoticed, ensuring communities are informed about the patterns of harm happening around them and that no story is allowed to disappear quietly.
Community Organizing & Direct Action
Storytelling and public awareness campaigns are powerful tools and at Denver Justice Project, we use them to organize community power and build collective capacity for direct action. We know direct action isn’t one-size-fits-all, so we create multiple pathways for people to engage, whether that’s attending a rally, joining a phone and email campaign, showing up to a press conference, or supporting behind the scenes. By meeting people where they are, we grow a broader, more resilient base of community members ready to stand up for accountability and justice.
