Wholeness and Justice

Wholeness and Justice is a programme managed by CAISO: Sex & Gender Justice that aims to expand access by diverse LGBTI+ Trinbagonians to wholeness, justice and health and human services, through the combination of legal and social-work professional staffing, peer navigation and referral services, and the enrolment of allies. These include casework, crisis intervention and emergency support, legal advocacy, counselling, competence-building of justice and service systems, strategic litigation, policy advocacy and neighbourhood-level outreach. The programme will eventually also deliver competitively fee-based legal services to CAISO’s communities. 

Our goal is to respond to every violation of an LGBTI+ Trinbagonian, with an emphasis on trans, nonbinary, gender-non-conforming and intersex people; and to deliver clinically competent, trauma-informed interventions that enable healing and resilience. Our hope is to serve no fewer than 50 persons per year. We aim to reduce vulnerability and to strengthen individual self-advocacy and justiceseeking, community mutual action and vigilance, and citizenship; and to reduce impunity, and make systems more responsive and just. 

Wholeness & Justice is currently funded by grants from the Arcus and Astraea Foundations, and supported by collaboration with Jamaicans for Justice and among organisations comprising the Alliance for Justice & Diversity. It will be managed by a full-time lawyer with five to ten years’ practice, a panel of pro bono lawyers, a full-time master’s-level social worker, a social work supervisor, peer navigators, students and volunteers, and an oversight council.