Credible messengers and violence interrupters have become essential to improving public safety, reducing violence, supporting successful reentry, and creating opportunities for young people. Led by professionals with lived experience, these community-based programs are now widely recognized as an effective approach to strengthening communities and reducing justice system involvement.
Founded a decade ago at The New School, the Institute for Transformative Mentoring (ITM) was created to meet the professional development needs of credible messengers. Today, ITM provides training, leadership development, and career advancement opportunities for credible messengers and the organizations that employ them. By investing in the people who lead this work, the Institute helps build a stronger credible messenger movement rooted in healing, community empowerment, and social justice—expanding the capacity of leaders to transform lives, strengthen neighborhoods, and advance lasting systems change.
The Institute for Transformative Mentoring (ITM) helps credible messengers heal, grow as leaders, and strengthen the skills they use to support young people, families, and communities. Our programs combine restorative justice, trauma-informed practice, political education, practical skills, and experiential learning to promote personal healing, professional growth, and community impact.
ITM's programs deliver measurable results. More than 90% of participants complete our intensive courses, many advance into leadership roles with increased wages and responsibilities, and more than 30 alumni have launched community-based organizations. Participants and employers consistently report stronger leadership, improved communication, greater confidence, and a deeper capacity to foster healing, strengthen communities, and create lasting change.
ITM serves youth, frontline practitioners, organizational leaders, and grassroots changemakers through a continuum of leadership and professional development programs, including:
A semester-long, college-level course that equips employed credible messengers with advanced mentoring, leadership, and restorative justice practices while earning college credit.
A semester-long, college-level course that equips employed credible messengers with advanced mentoring, leadership, and restorative justice practices while earning college credit.
Training, personal development, and paid internships for young adults interested in becoming peer mentors.
Workshops and coaching that help nonprofit organizations strengthen supervision, professional development, and support for credible messenger staff.
The Mentor’s Action Plan offers training and support for alumni to develop healing circles and other community-based restorative justice interventions that respond to local needs.
Advanced training that prepares credible messengers to shape public policy and systems change, in partnership with The New Hood
Financial and technical assistance that helps emerging community leaders strengthen and sustain their organizations.
“I now have the ability to approach everything in my life with patience and thinking about consequences. I know that changed because of ITM.”
“My experience with ITM has been extremely transformative. Not only did I realize a lot of things about myself, but I learned a lot about why things happen in my community, things that I never even understood. I understand now the four aggravating factors [of violence] and why violence occurs within our community.”
"Our grads were very enthused about going, bringing back different skill sets, being able to bring it back to the organization... I was happy that I was able to do it and then be a spokesperson.
I think it is beneficial. I think every Credible Messenger and people with lived experience that do this work definitely should be a part of ITM... whether it is the Transformative Mentoring or Public Policy.
It creates family and community for us.
“…This healing and this family that I am having now is something that I’ve been asking for and the growth that I’ve experienced here is exactly what I needed. I am so close to accomplishing so many things just because of this process but the biggest one is having my daughter be proud of me, to see me heal, to see me grow as a mom, and for my family to see this growth as well.”
ITM is family. Mentors build relationships and community and we support them.
Our team are mentors, community leaders, restorative justice practitioners, skilled facilitators, trained mental health workers, and graduates of our program.
We are a community. More than 80 organizations have partnered with ITM and participated in our programs.
We are Kings and Queens. The students and graduates of ITM form a multi-generational movement of healers and change makers.
A steadfast advocate for inmates at Rikers Island is becoming New York City's correction commissioner.
Federal monitoring of community organizations and political protest? We've seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well.
Community violence intervention programs work. But they’re hemmed in by a too-narrow focus.
A new policy breaks up cellblock “gang houses” and injects credible messengers to deescalate violence.
I’ve worked at Rikers Island. I’ve been detained there, too – twice. And a “let them loose on each other” attitude prevailed.
With supplies for detainees running low, community donors stepped in.
I first went to Rikers at age 17, in chains. Now I’m back, because I choose to help others.
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