WHO WE ARE
Restorative Community Solutions (RCS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2022, led by a group of dedicated professionals with a deep history of direct service. Executive Director Earl Simms is African American and a returning citizen who values shared leadership as a principle in uplifting impacted communities.
WHAT WE DO
One of our guiding principles is keeping the community first and sharing power with our service providers, staff, and clients from a trauma-informed lens. Peer support is fundamental to our organizational spirit and is the foundation of our services. Healing and empowerment are the intentions that allow us to show up in this work with the heart of offering support to those who are in need.
We provide peer support services across various applications, including credible messengers, peer support specialists, community health workers, and life coaches. These modalities are practical tools to support those experiencing the transition back into society from institutional settings, homelessness, prison, jails, and treatment facilities.
Our vision is to be the voice for those who don't have one, helping them to heal from the adverse and complex trauma experiences which, for many, began as children and continued into adulthood. We advocate for change by being at the table with decision-makers to call for and encourage and support systems change.
OUR STORY
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Earl Simms, Executive Director
RCS is committed to putting equity at the forefront of our focus. Communities have lost power through the polarization of our society and a need to divide and conquer. Our organization was born from efforts to create solutions to complex trauma by including the voices of everyone within the community to work toward a harmonious and just future while creating avenues for accountability and action toward healing and change.
Unfortunately, Executive Director Earl Simms has had intimate experience with how young African American males process and manifest complex trauma into action and behavior. Earl was sentenced to 18 years to life for taking the life of a young man named Alfonzo and served 22 years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Making changes in Earl's life and helping others avoid the same pitfalls he experienced are his living amends to Alfonzo and his family.
Prison, healing, and transition experience informed Earl's lens on how essential it is to have community support, relying on indigenous and well-established practices that bring safety into spaces where processing trauma can happen. Community is the motivating force for the vision of creating RSC to provide the support he and Alfonzo lacked in their upbringing.
Erin Kennedy, JD, Director of Programs & Legal Strategy
Erin Kennedy has been embedded in the nonprofit space for years and is passionate about making a difference. She is the chairperson of our board and a lawyer licensed in Kansas and California. Erin's expertise and Earl's lived experience and passion for this work have primed RCS to make an enduring impact in Bay Area communities by helping provide alternative solutions to those on the verge of life-altering mistakes while guiding individuals already amid those consequences and a path to healing for those affected by criminal actions on both sides.
Meet Our Board
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OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Creating lasting change in our communities requires us all to work together. We are grateful for the organizations that collaborate with and support us to amplify the impact our work has on the community. We are always open to forging new relationships with fellow changemakers.
