The Center for Empowerment and Justice was founded by Jim Chapman and Reverend Sydney Logwood as an organization creating community access for individuals returning from incarceration. It was founded in 2016 and solely funded by Jim Chapman until his death in August 2021. Throughout that time The Center for Empowerment and Justice evolved from a Friday night social space for individuals in the Centerstone work-release program to a far-reaching social impact agency attempting to self-fund through in-house entrepreneurial activities such as a full-service print shop.

Following the first 18 active months of COVID-19 and our founder’s passing in August 2021 The Center for Empowerment and Justice was again reorganized to increase social assistance output. Since August 2021 this has resulted in successes such as assisting dozens of families with housing placement during housing enrollments, serving upwards of 300 clients and meeting their everyday social needs during active summer months, and helping to positively influence personal safety and interpersonal relationships of dozens of people regularly occupying space within several blocks of our facility.

Organizational Structure: The Center for Empowerment and Justice is a volunteer-lead organization whose financial obligations are strictly operational costs. Board members, volunteers, clients, community members, and visitors all work together to create a cohesive and capable service environment where anyone may find themselves qualified and capable of helping another person at any moment. The Center for Empowerment and Justice’s formal structure consists of several board members representing varied perspectives and experiences that lend support to achieving our core mission. The Center for Empowerment and Justice’s informal structure consists of a handful of director-level individuals overseeing the application of services and management of day-to-day operations. Typically this group consists of two or three individuals at any one time.

Strategic Partnerships: The Center for Empowerment and Justice is a certified affiliate of the SIU School of Social Work able to accept interns and provide real world learning and service experience to up-and-coming social workers. The Center for Empowerment and Justice works closely with Rainbow Cafe to ensure service needs met include those experienced by LGBT+ community. The Center for Empowerment and Justice has been a contributor the The City of Carbondale’s Gun Violence Prevention study since its early inception. Prior to Jim Chapman’s passing The Center for Empowerment and Justice had a strategic relationship with The John Howard Association.