Empowered communities dismantle and create alternatives to existing systems by centering their own power and self-determination. They place the community at the heart of reform by co-creating solutions. 

For example:

The Transformational Prison Project was built by a small group of men serving life sentences who began exploring what restorative justice means. Restorative justice offers a model of accountability focused on healing and held by the community impacted. By providing spaces where those who have been harmed and those who have done the harm can come together and engage in dialogue, TPP builds understanding of both the individual harms and the systemic harms that affect communities of color.