.png)
WHO WE ARE
ABOUT US
"We repeat what we don't repair
The Radix Project works at the root of youth incarceration in Contra Costa County. We serve justice-involved young people ages 14–20 across the full arc of system contact — from early intervention, when a first encounter can still be diverted, through detention and reentry, when the question is whether a young person cycles back or moves on for good.
Radix goes to the root, not the symptom. That is what our name means, and it is what the work requires.
OUR REACH
ONE CYCLE, THREE POINTS OF CONTACT
Justice involvement isn't a single moment — it's a sequence, and it can be interrupted at more than one point. Radix meets young people at each.
EARLY INTERVENTION
For young people who have had a first contact but haven't been detained, the window to divert is still open — and closes fast. We provide individualized support before initial involvement becomes deeper entanglement.
JUSTICE INVOLVED YOUTH
For young people already moving through the system, we stay a consistent presence — connecting them and their families to resources and community support that makes a different outcome possible.
INCARCERATION & REENTRY
Inside juvenile detention facilities, we work directly with young individuals on identity, reentry readiness, and community connection - the internal work of leaving the system permanently.
OUR FRAMEWORK
HOW WE WORK
THE PRINCIPLES
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE
Every young person we serve has experienced harm — and justice-involved youth are especially likely to carry unaddressed trauma and mental-health needs. Our programs are built on the understanding that behavior is often a response to trauma, not a character flaw. We create environments where young people feel safe, seen, and capable of change.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Punishment addresses the act. Restoration addresses the relationship — between a young person and themselves, their community, and the systems around them. We apply restorative principles in everything we do.
ROOT-CAUSE INTERVENTION
We don't treat symptoms. We address the conditions — educational gaps, housing instability, trauma exposure, and systemic disinvestment — that make justice involvement more likely in the first place. That is what it means to go to the root.
OUR FRAMEWORK
WHO WE SERVE
We serve justice-involved individuals ages 14–20 across Contra Costa County, including young people who are at risk of system involvement, currently navigating the juvenile justice system, or recently released. These young people are often also navigating poverty, learning differences, mental health challenges, and trauma, while facing systems that were created to process and punish, rather than care and repair.
83%
of the young people Contra Costa County has committed to its most restrictive juvenile programs since 2018 are Black or Hispanic.
Source: Contra Costa County Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant plan, 2023.