Advertise on podcast: iChange Justice Season 5

#239 - iChange Justice Podcast - Dismantling the Stigma of Homelessness and Reclaiming Lives Inside Bellingham's Encampments: Raw Stories, Systemic Gaps, and the Search for Real Solutions When we make a promise to our community, we show up. 🏕️✨On Episode #239 of the iChange Justice Podcast, RCC Founder Irene Morgan and President Val take you deep into our monthly outreach mission—delivering on our promise to feed 150 people twice a month in the Bellingham encampments. Thanks to incredible in-kind donations and partners like Snip Snip and others, we brought hot food, warm clothes, boots, and essentials directly to those who need them most. 🤝 Plus, we sit down for raw, unfiltered conversations with the people living out here—sharing their stories, breaking down stigmas, and looking at real, permanent solutions. Listen to the new episode on Patreon first, or catch us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Amazon! 🎧✨ Thank you to all of our donors.

"Memo to Whatcom County Racial Equity Commission regarding jail population forecast and the use of pretrial incarceration in Whatcom County" This episode of iChange Justice is presented in partnership with the Restorative Community Coalition and the Whatcom County Racial Equity Commission. In this powerful installment, our board members—Karen Ball, Atul Deshmane, and Irene Morgan—are joined by Miriam Karamoko and Ray Rodriguez to unpack a newly released, accessible to the public, assessment memo from the nationally recognized Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). For years, community advocates have pushed back against county justifications for a massive jail expansion, only to face constant resistance, closed doors while watching prevention programs go away. This new national data report fundamentally contradicts the county’s own metrics, validating what local advocates have known all along: the data does not support the need for a bigger jail, and pre-trial incarceration causes deep, compounding harm to families and the broader community. Instead of expanding a facility and dismantling effective booking restrictions, the PPI report urges the county to build the smallest jail possible and fully invest in the 14 other areas of needed reform outlined in the Justice Implementation Plan. In this episode, we explore how this data provides an opening for true, generational change. We discuss the importance of shifting our focus from punishment to prevention, demanding government accountability, and utilizing public comment platforms and community events to ensure the public's voice shapes our future. We are building the future, one Connection at a time. It takes a village…join ours. https://www.whatcomracialequity.org/jail-and-behavioral-care-center https://www.whatcomracialequity.org/s/PPI_Whatcom_County_Jail_Expansion_Memo.pdf https://www.whatcomracialequity.org/contact

Ready for a real talk on what it actually takes to heal our community and build systems we can believe in? In Episode of the iChange Justice Podcast, the team dives into the third and final part of our series on trust! This week, we are moving past the critiques and focusing on the solutions. We’re sharing incredible, real-world examples of what happens when leaders swallow their pride, listen to grassroots voices, and align resources to meet the public's actual needs.  From the streets of LA to local initiatives right here in Whatcom County, discover how we can break the cycle of incarceration and build a community table where everyone is heard.  🗓️ Date: Wednesday, July 29th 🕓 Time: 4:00 PM PST 🎙️ Featuring: Atul Deshmane, Karen Ball, Lucy Kesterson, Irene Morgan, Miriam Karamoko, and Rae Rodriguez 🔗 Tune in and get involved: Visit TheRestorativeCommunity.org/Contact to share your thoughts, send an email directly to Irene, or grab advocacy templates to contact your local representatives! Follow real-time justice updates with our partners at WhatcomRacialEquity.org. Let's stop building bigger walls and start building better connections. See you there! 🕊️🎒

In the second of our three-part series, the iChange Justice Podcast digs deep into our local legal landscape. Join board members of the Restorative Community Coalition as we move past the rhetoric to answer the hard question: How do we establish trust after a systemic breach of confidence? From identifying the "impediments" we need to let go of to the "essentials" we must add, we’re mapping out a path to a more humane community. 🗓️ Airing June 24th (the last Wednesday of the month). Join us for this essential conversation. ✨

#235 - iChange Justice Podcast: Restorative Community Coalition Presents: Breaking Down the Breach of Trust1st of a 3 part Series on Restorative JusticeThe wait is over! We are officially launching an all-new monthly broadcast format! 📻 For this milestone episode, our entire board steps up to the microphone to co-host a critical conversation on a heavy reality: the systemic breach of trust in our local justice system. Facilitated by board member Atul Deshmane, our panel brings together coalition founder Irene Morgan, board members Karen Ball and Lucy Kesterson, alongside Ray Rodriguez and Miriam Karamoko from the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission. We are diving deep into the hard truths the community needs to hear: 👉 The 90/10 Reality Check: Voters were promised a 50/50 split to fund crucial behavioral health and re-entry services during the 2023 jail levy. Instead, current plans allocate roughly 90% of the funds strictly to jail cells. 👉 The Missing Needs Assessment: Why did local executives scrap the promised community needs assessment within two weeks of taking office? 📋 👉 Silenced Voices: We need to see how we pacify citizens while maintaining the unsustainable incarceration loop active. We believe it’s time to design a system that actually heals. Restorative Justice is the Focus, and it begins by demanding transparency and building true Connection within our community. 🕊️🌾

In this encore episode, Host Joy Gilfilen introduces John and Wes, two men rebuilding their lives after incarceration and now helping others find their way forward. They share what it was like reentering society in Cowlitz County, Washington, after felony convictions left them navigating life after prison, homelessness, and the challenges of starting over. Through perseverance and support, both men found work and became certified peer counselors, first living at and later working with the Community House on Broadway as peer mentors and housing specialists. Today, their lived experience helps others facing similar challenges reconnect with housing, stability, and opportunity. We are closing out our encore series and will be introducing our next community discussion... Stay Tuned. Find the iChange Justice Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts, and thank you to KOYS-LPFM 94.1

Joy Gilfilen, the host of iChange Justice, interviews Jerome Gold, the author of Paranoia and Heartbreak, about his 15 years as a rehabilitation counselor at Echo Glen, the Washington State Juvenile Prison. The conversation dives deep into the effectiveness of prevention, intervention, and diverse therapies in reducing recidivism and increasing the probability of people staying out of prison. They explore how tools like conflict resolution, de-escalation, and aggression reduction therapies serve as critical supports for building healthier relationships both inside and outside the system. Jerome Gold offers a vital reminder for lawmakers and community leaders: virtually everyone who goes into prison eventually comes out. When we make decisions about crime and community building, the real question we must face is: "Are we helping or harming people?" Remembering that everyone is human is the most powerful starting point for discussing real solutions for justice.

#232 iChange Justice Podcast – Jails, Bonds & Bond Markets (Encore #141) Most people have no idea that incarceration is tied to financial markets — and that prison-related bonds can ultimately be traded on the stock exchange, sometimes even owned by political leaders and investment funds. In this episode, Host Joy Gilfilen speaks with a Wall Street bond trader to explore how a case can move from a 911 call, to an arrest, to bail, and eventually into financial packages connected to the broader bond market. These are the kinds of questions we explore on the iChange Justice Podcast — looking beyond the surface to understand how systems of justice, economics, and public policy intersect in ways many people never see. 📻 Every Thursday at Noon on KOYS-LPFM 94.1 Bellingham 🎧 And everywhere you get your podcasts.

What is justice anyway? It depends on the eye of the beholder. Three people from the Restorative CommUnity Coalition with lived experience in the field—Joy Gilfilen, Irene Morgan, Debbie David and Chene Keltz—talk about justice in America from their perspective. This show is all about dropping the veil on the criminal justice system. Over 800 years and the system has not budged on restoring anyone, in fact, quite the opposite. Why do we have over 9 million people in prison in the US? Who is paying for all of the ins and outs of the system? Why do people, more times than not, end up back in prison for sometimes up to 10-20 or more times? How can we speak up about changing the system processes so our country can thrive? If you are at all ignited with curiosity then please bring your open mind and heart to hear from community members from all walks of life. We will have corporate, non-profit, public service, students and those who have been affected by the system firsthand comment on their experiences, beliefs, and hope for the future. Are we all just continuing to do what our ancestors taught just because they said it is so? Where does the insanity stop? When are we as a country, as a world, going to be ready to say to ourselves, “Maybe what I was told, taught, and believed is wrong?” A heavy question! Join us in the discussions and sign up for membership to access exclusive research, training and upcoming events. Encore on Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts and on KOYS-LPFM Bellingham

In this encore episode, Host Joy Gilfilen explores the connections between justice, history, science, and the rhythms of the natural world. The conversation reflects on the April 8, 2024 eclipse and why such events capture the attention of scientists, farmers, first responders, original nations scholars, healers, and thinkers across many traditions. These observers often study long patterns in nature and history to better understand how changes in tides, planetary alignments, and environmental rhythms can influence human behavior, culture, and social systems. In this episode, Eric Thompson shares insights from his study of historical cycles and planetary movement, offering perspectives on how these patterns may intersect with the ways societies think about freedom, culture, and justice. We’re sharing this conversation again as part of the iChange Justice Podcast March–April creative pause, revisiting episodes that invite deeper reflection on the forces shaping our communities and our world. Find the iChange Justice Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

Host Joy Gilfilen speaks with Paul Levy, author of Wetiko sand other books on the concept of “wetiko,” a psycho-spiritual mind virus long described in Native traditions as a destructive force operating within human consciousness. In this conversation, Joy explores how Levy’s work intersects with issues of justice, incarceration, leadership, and collective behavior. Levy describes how what he calls “malignant egophrenia,” or the “mad emperor disease,” can influence individuals and institutions alike, shaping patterns of division, conflict, and harm that appear throughout modern society. Drawing from decades of study in psychology, spirituality, and quantum theory, Levy explains how this unconscious pattern can operate beneath the surface of our awareness—and why recognizing it may be essential to healing systems and communities. We’re sharing this episode again as part of the iChange Justice Podcast March–April creative pause, revisiting conversations that continue to offer insight into justice, healing, and recovery. Episodes like this one invite deeper reflection on the forces shaping our world and the possibilities for transformation. We welcome your thoughts as we prepare future conversations and explore bringing more discussions like this to the podcast. Find the iChange Justice Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

Joy Gilfilen, host of iChange Justice podcast interviews a woman who went "on walkabout" down I-5 this past year, living homeless. She has been an advocate for social issues of poverty, mental health, public safety and homelessness and shares what she learned.How have cities adapted in the past two years to the civic crisis issues, to the injection of CARES dollars for emergency intervention in different cities? What has happened to the people living without shelter, emergency services, and without resources during the past few years? What is it like today as different from before? How is this impacting people, what are the side effects of different leadership attitudes on the community? As Part of our March & April Creative Retreat We ask for your participation and feedback.

During our creative retreat to record new and innovative material, we’re sharing an encore of one of our Top Shows of 2023 — Episode #67, “CORE Mental Health Services.” Host Joy Gilfilen talks with Ben Hoppie, Mental Health Practitioner, and Trisha Johnston, Peer Counselor, about how they work alongside law enforcement, courts, and hospital emergency departments in Cowlitz County to support people facing substance use, mental health challenges, homelessness, poverty, and justice system involvement. Their lived experience and professional training allow them to meet people at the moment of crisis, helping redirect lives toward recovery and stability. The iChange Justice Podcast, produced by the Restorative Community Coalition, shares real stories about homelessness, addiction, incarceration, recovery, and the nonprofits working on the front lines to help people rebuild their lives. Please share the podcast with friends and family, support local nonprofits, and stay connected as we prepare our next season. Listen. Learn. Stay informed.

In this encore presentation, Host Joy Gilfilen speaks with John Fitzpatrick about the real impact of peer mentoring, supportive housing, and community-integrated services for people rebuilding their lives after incarceration. John shares what it means to serve as a peer mentor and why integrated services — housing, employment support, and trauma-informed care working together — significantly increase the chances of successful reentry. Programs like these help stabilize individuals facing complex challenges including trauma, addiction, and the difficult transition back into community life. Their supportive housing model offers at least a 90-day program with fully integrated services designed to help people regain stability and reconnect with meaningful work and community support. This conversation highlights the kind of leadership and lived experience the iChange Justice Podcast seeks to bring forward — individuals working directly in communities to create practical pathways toward healing, accountability, and long-term stability. Episode #226 is part of our March and April encore series while the iChange Justice Podcast takes a creative pause to reflect and explore future directions.

The fourth conversation featuring James Addington, Mel Hoover, William Gardiner and host Karen Ball. We examine what it truly means to be “fit to survive” in an era defined by climate instability, political division, and social fragmentation. This discussion frames climate change not simply as an environmental issue, but as the central moral challenge shaping ecological, economic, and cultural realities. When we isolate crises instead of understanding their interconnected roots, we weaken our collective ability to respond. James reframes “survival of the fittest” into something more urgent and hopeful: being fit to survive. Fitness, in this context, means adaptability, preparedness, and the capacity to build systems grounded in shared responsibility. The episode explores leadership beyond title or position, leadership grounded in reality orientation, accountability to systems of power, historical imagination, hopeful engagement, and a commitment to viable, inclusive community. Reparations are discussed not merely as financial compensation, but as an essential strategy for rebuilding the societal fabric and ensuring all communities can participate in shaping a sustainable future. Grounded in the concept of Tikkun Olam — repairing the world — this conversation challenges listeners to move beyond denial and polarization toward moral clarity, collective resilience, and long-term responsibility for generations yet to come.