Report Back from a Powerful Healing Justice Fair

This past Saturday, our community came together for the Healing Justice Fair, a day centered on community care and collective healing. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who joined us to teach, share, and hold space together.

Throughout the day, we were inspired by the powerful workshops that grounded us in transformative and restorative practices. The Dynamic Justice Collective and Healing Communities PA helped us imagine what accountability and healing can look like outside of punitive systems. South Philly Punks with Lunch led a Narcan training that gave attendees the tools to respond to overdoses, and West Philly Food Not Bombs nourished us with hot food. We also moved and breathed together in a restorative yoga session guided by Black Bird Rising, and connected with many more movement partners offering resources for mutual support.

The weekend marked five years since Walter Wallace Jr. was killed by Philadelphia police officers during a mental health crisis, and we were grateful to the folks from Black Bird Rising for creating an altar to honor his memory. Walter Wallace should be alive today. His death underscores the urgent need for alternatives to policing and the systems of community care that can truly keep us safe.

Thank you to all the partners who pitched in to make it such a special event: Reclaim Philadelphia, Healing Communities PA, Blackwell Cultural Alliance, Black Bird Rising, Dynamic Justice Collective, Office of CM O’Rourke, Office of CM Gauthier, Office of Rick Krawjeski, The Brigade, Our Revolution, Collective Climb, Philly Black Workers Project, and Prevention Point Philly, among others. Together we’re building a world where safety is rooted in community, resource sharing, and collective care.