Our mission states “JRI Health pursues social justice through providing underserved individuals and communities with opportunities to develop the tools and skills essential in creating strength, well-being and autonomy. We do this through compassionate support, constant innovation and community leadership.” Inherent in that mission is our commitment to meet the needs of individuals who face difficulty gaining access to services due to societal injustices, including health and health care disparities, racism, homophobia, and economic discrimination. Our role at JRI Health is to provide barrier-free services, to intervene with other systems when necessary, and to model empowering methods of advocacy, so that the individuals and communities we serve experience us as partners on whom they can rely as they design the lives they choose for themselves.

We provide concrete services like primary health care and GED preparation to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & other marginalized teens and young adults, and we also offer the affirmation and encouragement that is often withheld from them as a result of prejudice. We deliver legal and case management services to individuals who are managing HIV, substance abuse and/or mental health issues, but we do it through a “stages of change model” that acknowledges & honors their progression as well as their setbacks. We work with communities across the globe to prevent the spread of disease and to bring into care those infected with and affected by HIV, while we also provide organizational development and leadership training so that the work is sustainable. Ultimately, JRI Health, through its dedicated staff, works to make a difference and to further the vision of social justice that is the very foundation of JRI.

I hope that you will enjoy reading and learning about our programs. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Douglas M. Brooks, MSW
Vice President for Health Services, Justice Resource Institute (JRI)
Executive Director, JRI Health/Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center