Skip to content

Community over confinement.

Project Nia works to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices.

Our Journey

50,000

American children are incarcerated daily.

( Source: Youth First )

500+

incarcerated children in the US are 12 years old or younger.

( Source: Prison Policy Initiative )

$100k-$300k

is the average annual cost to incarcerate a young person in the U.S.

( Source: Justice Policy Institute )

Read our research

Educational Resources

Project NIA Presents: Defund the Police

We're excited to share a new video collaboration with Project Nia & Blue Seat Studios. This four-minute animated video is made with young people in mind but can be a useful introduction to basic #DefundPolice concepts for all ages.

Read more

Artist residency
What’s Happening Now

Introducing Project NIA’s first Artist’s Residency…

Project NIA’s mission is to dramatically reduce the reliance on arrest, detention, and incarceration for addressing youth violence and to promote the use of restorative and transformative practices, a concept that relies on community-based safety responses. Beyond all of the words, what we are after is to end youth incarceration, a practice that we consider to be harmful, immoral, and counter-productive. When our ultimate goal is bluntly stated in this way, it becomes more difficult to win a majority of the public over to our side of the argument. People begin asking all sorts of questions like “surely you believe that some children and young adults belong in prison?” or “Is it realistic to close all youth prisons?” These are valid questions and we engage them.

Read more