As we begin a new year, I want to thank our staff, partners, service providers and community members for your continued commitment to this work. Each year brings new challenges, but it also brings renewed opportunity to strengthen how we support people returning home and the communities they rejoin.

In 2026, JCOD is building on the progress we have made by expanding programs that meet people where they are and respond to real needs with dignity, care and accountability. Our focus remains on providing practical solutions that improve outcomes, strengthen public safety and support long-term stability across Los Angeles County and continue the Care First mission established by the Board of Supervisors.

One of our most significant areas of growth this year is JCOD’s Warm Landing Place. Soon we will open a trailer office near Men’s Central Jail that will serve as a resource center for individuals immediately upon release. This space will offer a place to pause, access basic resources and connect with services that support a safe and successful return home.

At the same time, we are moving forward with Phase III of the JCOD Warm Landing Place. This permanent facility is set to begin construction this year and is located directly across from the downtown Los Angeles jail complex. The facility is designed to offer short-term respite, food, phone access, transportation, temporary housing and connections to voluntary services that promote stability and reduce the likelihood of future system involvement.

Our pretrial and diversion efforts continue to expand. The JCOD Rapid Diversion Program recently launched its eighth site, offering services at the San Fernando Courthouse, allowing us to reach more individuals earlier and connect them with clinical assessments and supportive services at the point of court contact. The JCOD Developing Opportunities and Offering Reentry Solutions (JCOD D.O.O.R.S) program is also expanding, launching virtual services early this year to support Long Beach residents and surrounding communities, and planning for a future physical site in the area.

JCOD remains deeply committed to creating pathways to meaningful employment. This year, we will launch LA County Training Center Firefighter Training Program Cohort 3, another all-female cohort building on the success of prior classes. Participants will receive training in wildland and structural firefighting, with the option to complete EMT training, as they prepare for careers in fire service. In addition, JCOD is currently supporting workforce development through a partnership with LA Metro and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council to bring the Women in Non Traditional Employment Roles (WINTER) program. WINTER provides tuition-free construction training and industry-recognized certifications, connecting women to union career pathways in the building and construction trades.

The JCOD Incubation Academy continues to be a cornerstone of our work with community-based organizations. As the program prepares to launch its 11th cohort in late January, we are expanding access for organizations to online materials through a new Incubation Academy Resource Hub. This platform will provide tools, templates and guidance for individuals working to start or strengthen nonprofit organizations. It will also feature an Alumni Hub where JCOD Incubation Academy graduates can collaborate, share resources and continue building capacity together.

In April, Second Chance Month will once again be a time to elevate stories, share resources and engage communities across all five supervisorial districts. This year’s efforts will include Countywide activities and a justice-involved film festival that highlights lived experience and creative expression. More details will be shared soon.

Later this year, we plan to host the third-annual Together We Thrive Summit & Festival, creating space for connection, learning and collaboration among community members, service providers, local leaders and County partners.

This work is only possible through partnership and shared responsibility. I am grateful for the dedication of those who make this work real every day and for the trust placed in JCOD to deliver thoughtful, effective solutions.

I hope you will join us and see how we’re advancing the work that will make Los Angeles a model of justice and opportunity.

All the best,

Judge Songhai Armstead (Ret.)

Director

JCOD Contributes to TDE’sAnnual Christmas Toy Drive and Community Giveback

For the second consecutive year, JCOD was honored to participate in the Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) Christmas Concert, Toy Drive and Community Giveback on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19. This marked the 12th year of collecting and distributing resources at Nickerson Gardens in Watts.

The two-day event brought together music, community support and essential services. TDE hosted a concert on the first day that featured top artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and collected toys for local families. The following day focused on distribution, with toys provided to families while dozens of community partners were on site to provide a wide range of resources.

JCOD staff was also on-hand and hosted a resource table and connected residents to services, including housing and employment support. Several JCOD staff members engaged directly with community members, shared information about available programs and hosted an art booth for children to make holiday ornaments.

 

Staff Spotlight

Gabriela Labrada – Justice Program Senior Analyst

After beginning her Los Angeles County career as a contractor  in October 2021, Gabriela Labrada transitioned into a permanent County role in November 2022 with the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department (JCOD). Her professional path is rooted in perseverance. After leaving home at 18 without family support, she worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Those experiences shaped her resilience and deepened her commitment to public service.

Gabriela started with JCOD’s Care Management team, formerly RICMS. Today, she serves as a Justice Program Senior Analyst and Lead Manager for Developing Opportunities and Offering Reentry Solutions (D.O.O.R.S) Antelope Valley. In this role, she oversees seven contracted service providers, ensuring program goals are met and high-quality services are delivered to justice-impacted individuals and their families. Her responsibilities include monitoring performance data, reviewing reports, invoices and budgets, identifying service gaps and implementing improvements. She also develops strategies to strengthen community engagement across the Antelope Valley.

In addition to her role onsite at D.O.O.R.S, Gabriela represents JCOD at meetings and community events, where she builds partnerships, shares program information and helps secure resources that support the JCOD D.O.O.R.S site and other JCOD initiatives. She also maintains direct engagement with individuals receiving services, an aspect of her work she finds especially meaningful.

“As an onsite provider, I have had the opportunity to speak directly with participants during some of their most difficult moments, when they shared their fears, concerns, and uncertainties,” she shared. “My most fulfilling experience within JCOD has been witnessing participant growth as they received support, overcame challenges, and began to move forward. Seeing how that progress positively influenced their confidence, interactions with staff, and relationships with their families has been incredibly meaningful and reaffirming of the work we do. Additionally, opening the D.O.O.R.S Antelope Valley Center and seeing the community actively participate in our onsite events is what truly makes my day.”

This work aligns closely with the path Gabriela long envisioned for herself.

“I have always wanted to help people,” she said. “Based on my personal background, I saw how preconceived views of individuals or certain groups affected how they were treated and what resources and information they could access. Those experiences motivated me to be someone who helps rather than hinders. JCOD’s mission to promote community safety, wellbeing, and equitable services resonates deeply with me and aligns with my values. Working alongside like-minded colleagues, I truly believe we can create meaningful, lasting change in our community.”

Gabriela views her role as part of a broader and evolving effort within the department.

“What excites me most about JCOD’s work is that, as a newer Los Angeles County department, there is still tremendous opportunity for growth and innovation,” she concluded. “It has been inspiring to witness the department’s continued development—from expanded housing opportunities and the potential growth of the D.O.O.R.S program into additional Service Planning Areas, to recognition earned through initiatives such as Fire Camps and collaborative efforts to engage and uplift the community, including events recognizing Los Angeles County’s proclamation of ‘Second Chance Month.’”

Outside of work, Gabriela is married and a proud parent of three children and four pets–two dogs, a cat and a fish. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, drawing, exploring nature and traveling with her family.

Org Spotlight

Integrative Communities
(The Social Impact Center)

Founded in 2019, The Social Impact Center (TSIC) is dedicated to reclaiming dignity, fostering healing and building collective power through mutual aid, education, storytelling and coalition building—particularly for communities that have been historically marginalized.

According to Felicia Carbajal, co-founder and executive director, TSIC provides “a comprehensive array of stigma-free, community-driven services designed to support and empower criminalized BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals.” She explained that TSIC’s reentry support and mutual aid initiatives offer direct assistance to individuals navigating the aftermath of incarceration and systemic oppression, helping ensure access to basic needs, healing resources and meaningful opportunities for reintegration.

TSIC offers a wide range of educational programming, including Know Your Rights trainings focused on legal literacy and systems navigation, Story of Self workshops that support personal narrative development and empowerment and Mental Wellness trainings rooted in trauma-informed care and emotional resilience. The organization recently expanded this work with the launch of a paid, recurring mental health fellowship for community members.

In addition, TSIC provides legal support through community-centered expungement events that help remove barriers to employment and housing while restoring dignity to those impacted by the criminal legal system. Its trauma-informed leadership development programs cultivate community leadership grounded in lived experience, healing, compassion and mutual care.

“The idea emerged shortly after leading the Cannabis Social Equity Movement,” Carbajal shared. “Like many others, I realized our communities needed more than a pathway to licensure—we needed real and lasting healing. Drawing on our organizing experience, we helped launch National Expungement Week and became its anchor organization. The concept for The Social Impact Center grew directly from our lived experiences of systemic criminalization and an urgent desire to build a community rooted in care, healing, and intergenerational power for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people.”

TSIC first learned about JCOD through one of its partner organizations, Somos Familia Valle, a graduate of JCOD’s Incubation Academy. Following that recommendation, TSIC joined the 6^th cohort of the Incubation Academy.

“JCOD has supported our organizational growth and leadership development in truly transformative ways,” Carbajal said. “This partnership has reminded us time and again that we are enough—and that by working together, we are creating powerful impact across the county we love.”

In 2013, TSIC received a JCOD CFCI Care Grant, enabling the organization to expand staff capacity, strengthen internal systems and grow its legal team.

“Most importantly, the investment affirmed that a better path is possible when we listen to and prioritize the voices of those directly impacted,” Carbajal added. “We were also able to leverage the County’s support to secure additional funding from the State of California, partner organizations, and private foundations.”

Like many community-based organizations, TSIC continues to navigate challenges related to consistent funding and long-term sustainability. Despite these obstacles, its impact remains profound.

“Seeing community members step into leadership roles has been incredibly rewarding,” Carbajal reflected. “One unforgettable moment came during a panel discussion when we challenged the District Attorney’s Office on the sheer number of cannabis convictions still on record. That intervention ultimately led to 58,000 people in Los Angeles having their records expunged—a powerful reminder that truth, when rooted in community power, can spark massive change.”

For more information about The Social Impact Center, follow @thesocialimpactcenter on Instagram or visit their website here.