2019 MIDC Annual Impact Report

Participatory Defense
With the creation of new public defender offices and interest across the
state in reform of indigent defense, Michigan is uniquely positioned to
develop collaborations between public defenders and community
members that can empower people who face criminal charges and their
family members, improve the practice of public defender offices, and
create long-standing partnerships that will create sustained change
over time.
In 2019, the MIDC partnered with Silicon Valley
DeBug (SVD), a California-based non-profit
agency that has developed and helped
implemented a model called participatory
defense in more than 25 sites across the country.
The model primarily operates through the
existence of participatory defense hubs where family members and
community members guide each other through the challenges of
criminal legal system involvement.
In 2019, SVD received a grant from the Public Welfare Foundation to
develop and implement participatory defense hubs in two sites in
Michigan. Through this project, the MIDC aims to create a replicable
model for other community-based organizations and public defender
offices in Michigan, with the hopes of empowering local communities,
improving criminal defense representation, and ultimately shifting the
tide of mass incarceration.
Participatory defense
simultaneously supports the
people moving through the
system – people who face
criminal charges, their family
members, and their
communities – while also
strengthening their defenses
by developing relationships
between communities and
public defenders.
MIDC 2019 Impact Report – page 36