October 22nd, 2021
Dear Friends,
Just as hearing is different from listening, knowing the facts isn’t quite the same as achieving awareness. I’ve learned this the hard way in the past few months as Ascend Justice has launched our Incarcerated Survivors Project. I “knew” lots of facts: 98% of people in women’s prisons report that they are survivors of gender-based violence; the criminal legal system often harms, rather than protects survivors; and the way that you experience and perceive the criminal legal system will likely vary depending on your race.

It wasn’t until Ascend Justice and the Women’s Justice Institute screened a film called And So I Stayed and heard from survivors who had spent decades in prison that I moved past just knowing the facts about incarcerated survivors. At that moment, awareness felt like the grief of so many mothers who have missed year's of their children’s lives, like the anxiety and desperation borne of isolation, and fury at a system that locks up the women who fight back, the ones who choose to live rather than be killed.

You probably know the facts of domestic violence: that it impacts 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men and that it costs our country upwards of $12 billion each year. You may know that gender-based violence is still normalized and trivialized in pop culture and by the systems that are meant to address it. If you’d like to grow your awareness, here are some ideas: listen to survivors. If you are a survivor, tell your story AND listen to others whose experience may be different from yours. Attend a Domestic Violence Awareness Month event: we recommend Look At Me: A Performance by Incarcerated Survivors of Gender-Based Violence on October 27, where survivors inside of Logan Correctional Center will be performing a piece they wrote based on their experiences.

Of course, we hope that you will continue to support Ascend Justice as we listen, amplify survivors’ stories, and work to improve the systems that serve them.
Sincerely,
Margaret R. Duval
Executive Director
Ascend Justice
Incarcerated Litigants Call
At the end of September, Ascend Justice officially appeared on the Incarcerated Litigants Call.

This call, led by Cook County Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division Grace Dickler, allows for people who are incarcerated to access the court system for their family law needs. Ascend Justice was able to help three survivors of gender-based violence and incarceration to get divorced. One woman excitedly told the judge that she had waited four years to be legally disconnected from her husband. The next woman explained she had not seen her husband in almost eleven years, and yet she is still called by his last name because of her incarceration. The last woman had been separated from her husband for over twenty years, but she had never had the necessary legal assistance to pursue the divorce.

In addition, Ascend Justice was able to appear on behalf of an incarcerated mother seeking parenting time with her child. Without the Incarcerated Litigants Call and Ascend Justice's Incarcerated Survivors Project, this would not have been possible.
2022 City Budget
After months of advocacy led by The Network, we were thrilled to see Mayor Lori Lightfoot include $35 million in funding for gender-based violence services in her 2022 Budget Proposal. This includes $25 million in new funding, with legal services being one of the four priority areas to help address the current needs of survivors in Chicago, as well as expanding services.
 
The full 2022 budget is slated to be voted on next week – please contact your alderman (you can find out who your alderperson is here) and encourage them to support expanding services for survivors of gender-based violence in 2022.
Holiday Angel Gift Drive 2021
Help Ascend Justice make wishes come to life this holiday season by becoming a Holiday Angel.

By signing up to be a Holiday Angel, you are making a commitment to provide a family with enough gifts from a provided list for them to have a meaningful holiday. We will work with the family on creating a wish list that can be used as a guide in helping you give items that are truly needed or desired in order to give the family a reason to rejoice this holiday season.

For more information and how you can sign up, please click here.
We're Hiring!
Ascend Justice is looking for new talent to help support individuals and families impacted by gender-based violence or the child welfare system. The following positions are currently open:


To learn more about these roles and how to apply, click here.

We are also currently accepting intern applications for our Winter Immersion Project where interns work in our Order of Protection Clinic for 1, 2, or 3 weeks during winter break. For more information on how to apply, click here.
legal advocacy. transforming lives.