- Internships are 10 weeks.
- The stipend for 2008 is $3000.
Summer Internship Program
Justice Now
Intern Reports:
2007 RRASC Intern - Jacqueline Johnson (Mt. Holyoke College): Final Report
2007 RRASC Intern - Eliza Pezuit (University of Massachusetts): Final Report
Organization's Mission:
Justice Now is a human rights organization that works with women in prison and local communities to create a safe, compassionate world without prisons. Our mission is to end violence against women and to stop imprisonment by partnering with women in prison in innovative social change strategies, including: arts-based public education campaigns; human rights documentation; media work; policy campaigns; legal services; and training the next generation of activists and lawyers committed to social justice. We are the only teaching law clinic in the country focused on prison abolition and the needs of people in women’s prisons.
Since 2000, Justice Now has trained over 180 community members and students in multifaceted, strategic social change methods. Interns are trained and supported in documenting the substantive work of the organization in collaboration with people in prison. Recent projects completed by Justice Now interns include co-authoring human rights reports on prison’s destruction of the family, training people in women’s prisons on international law related to reproductive justice, leading statewide organizing efforts, advocating for prisoners, partnering with people in women’s prisons to complete self help curriculums, working with people in women’s prisons to write their own articles, and more.
Internship Description:
Justice Now has a legal training clinic organizational structure, providing internships year round to community members, law students, undergraduates, and graduate students. We take seriously our goal of training the next generation of activists and lawyers in a multifaceted approach to social change work. Interns are trained and supervised in performing the majority of the programmatic work in collaboration with people in women’s prisons. To breakdown hierarchies of who has access to legal skill, Justice Now allots a maximum of 1⁄2 of intern slots for law students and all interns have their own caseload of clients for whom they are primarily responsible, regardless of their educational background or experience. Interns are trained to combine their legal service work with broader human rights, legislative, media, and grassroots organizing efforts in collaboration with women inside. Justice Now selects 10-15 interns each semester/summer. Priority is given to people of color, people who were formerly imprisoned, and family members of people in prison. Former interns have applied the skills learned in a variety of social justice field.
Skills Needed:
- Commitment to follow-through
- Sense of responsibility to people with whom you work
- Open-mindedness
- Ability to incorporate constructive criticism
- Ability to ask for help
