As California policy continues to shift in the direction of rehabilitative models and alternatives to incarceration, Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, a 2025 Michelson Spark Grantee, recognizes this as an opportunity to provide trauma-informed, community-rooted housing for people returning home. Such housing is designed to nurture educational persistence, successful reentry, peer to peer connection, and care-based support. Their innovative pilot will reimagine how higher education and housing can intersect to create opportunity for justice-impacted students throughout California.

A New Model for Equitable Reentry

DJDS’s “bridge ownership” model connects systems that rarely work together, including public funding, real estate, higher education, and reentry programs. Acting as an intermediary, DJDS’ initiative aims to unlock millions of unspent public dollars and channel them into stable, trauma-informed housing near state and community college campuses.

These homes are more than places to live. They are safe spaces where students can heal within a community of peers while pursuing their degrees. By integrating education with supportive housing, DJDS addresses one of the most critical barriers to reentry—stable housing—and transforms it into a foundation for long-term success.

Over the next 12 months, DJDS will use their Spark Grant to further develop and refine the bridge ownership housing model and create a replicable “playbook” to scale it statewide. They will also kick off their operational plans for one site in partnership with Project Rebound at a State University in California which will be identified in this process.

A Sustainable Partnership

The first pilot site will launch at a CSU, likely one of four programs who already have housing of some sort, either rented or owned by the university. Sacramento State Project Rebound is being considered for its readiness, strong institutional commitment, and urgent need for housing for justice-impacted students.

DJDS and the selected Project Rebound program will develop mixed-use housing designed for students completing sentences or newly released from incarceration. The model will also consider  income generation through rental units, supporting long-term sustainability. The first group of students is expected to move in by spring 2027.

The Scalability of the Model

Unlike one-time efforts, DJDS seeks to create a scalable solution. They’ve identified multiple potential funding and oversight partnerships. For example, their partner, Project Rebound, receives rental subsidy support from the Board of State and Community Corrections. Such a partnership has the potential to benefit 20 campuses and their students in the coming years.

DJDS has developed a financing model that will help community-based organizations acquire properties that they will own in the long term. To do so, DJDS secures a private equity investment to acquire and renovate the property. The property is initially sustained by the unspent rental subsidy dollars, and then a nonprofit partner can purchase and refinance the property. 

Designing a More “Justice” Future

Designing Justice + Designing Spaces is redefining how reentry housing can advance equity. Their work shows that ending mass incarceration requires more than reform, it requires reimagining the spaces where healing and learning happen.

We are thrilled to see how DJDS is centering human dignity and community ownership. Through projects such as this, we can create pathways where every student, regardless of their past, has the stability to learn.

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About Michelson 20MM

Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
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