Upcoming Events
Stay Informed: Follow the Bills We’re Watching
Public policy plays an important role in shaping the opportunities, supports, and protections available to young people and families across Tennessee. As part of our commitment to transparency and shared learning, our coalition maintains a Bill Tracker that is updated regularly throughout the legislative session.
The Bill Tracker highlights legislation we are currently monitoring that may impact youth, families, community safety, and pathways to opportunity. Our goal is to make it easier for community members, partners, and advocates to stay informed about what is happening at the Capitol.
We invite you to check the tracker periodically to see what legislation we are following and how it may affect the communities we care about.
If you are interested in engaging more deeply—whether that means learning more, participating in conversations, sharing community perspective, or supporting education efforts—we would welcome hearing from you. Please let us know if you would like to be part of these discussions or receive updates about opportunities to engage.
Building stronger communities is a collective effort, and informed participation helps ensure that the voices and experiences of our communities are part of the conversation.
Families are the heroes of this story.
When stability is within reach, families do what they’ve always done: they protect their children, rebuild what harm disrupted, and create safer futures. Raphah Institute exists to help make that stability possible—by strengthening harmed-party support, advancing meaningful accountability and repair, and modernizing the policies that decide who gets access to opportunity.
At Blossom and Thrive, you’ll hear from the Vice Mayor about the necessity of Early Embrace and why the next step is policy work—so proven pathways to stable work can scale across both urban and rural communities without compromising safety or quality. You’ll also hear community voices connected to ARC (Accountability and Repair Conferencing)—a readiness- and consent-based practice that centers harmed-party autonomy and requires responsible parties to account for harm through concrete repair and sustained change.
Your support helps ensure thriving is not rare. It helps families take root, grow strong, and build the kind of safety that lasts.
Important Details about the Event
Date: Thursday, April 29, 2026
Time:
7:00 AM: Check-in, Mingle, and Caffeinate
7:30-8:30 AM: Breakfast and Programming
Location: 1600 Riverside Dr, Nashville, TN 37216
Attire: Business / Business casual
Want More Engagement?
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Turkey & Dressing: Community Care in Action
Every December, Raphah Institute partners with S3 Recycling Solutions to host our annual Turkey & Dressing event, a celebration of dignity and community for the families of JC Napier and Tony Sudekum. With the generous donation of turkeys from S3, we ensure that every participating household receives a warm meal to share.
But our commitment doesn’t stop there.
Throughout the year, we collect new or gently used clothing, including new winter coats, gloves, and hats, to support families as the colder months arrive. We believe everyone deserves to feel seen, supported, and warmly clothed.
We invite you to be a part of this powerful experience:
Volunteer your time during the event
Lead a clothing drive in your workplace, school, or congregation
Be a personal shopper—help a community member select items with care and joy
Interested in getting involved or learning more?
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Partner. Design. Restore.
At Raphah Institute, we believe lasting change begins with deep partnership, thoughtful design, and the shared work of restoration.
We invite individuals, groups, and organizations to join us in this mission—not just by filling a role, but by becoming co-creators in the work of healing and community transformation.
Whether you're moved to:
Join a seasonal event like our Turkey & Dressing celebration
Co-create a project or outreach effort that reflects your gifts and our shared values
Offer your time, skills, or connections in a way that uplifts the families we serve
Imagine something entirely new that supports restoration in our community
We want to hear from you.
If you see alignment between your heart and our mission, reach out. Let’s explore how we can partner, design, and restore—together.
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Pack. Power. Promise.
Looking for a team-building experience with real impact? Pack. Power. Promise. is a unique opportunity to support Raphah Institute by partnering with our friends at Nashville Diaper Connection. Together, we wrap diapers — and dignity — around families navigating crisis.
If your business or friend group is interested in a fast-paced, purpose-driven challenge that supports both justice and care in our city, contact us to discuss options.
🌿 Blossom and Thrive: A Fundraiser Breakfast for Healing and Transformation 🌿
🌿 Blossom and Thrive: A Fundraiser Breakfast for Healing and Transformation 🌿
🌸 Event
Join us for the Blossom & Thrive Fundraiser Breakfast — a morning of inspiration, connection, and impact.
📅 April 23, 2025 | ⏰ 7:30–8:30 AM (Registration at 7:00 AM)
📍 West End United Methodist Church, 2290 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37203
🎟 Capacity is limited to 120 guests — register now to reserve your seat and invite your friends!
🌐 Can’t make it in person? We’d still love for you to join us virtually! Add it to your calendar now so you can participate and be part of this special morning from wherever you are.
🌱 Story
At Raphah Institute, we believe that every individual already holds within them the seeds of resilience, wisdom, and transformation. Our work is not about fixing people — it’s about nurturing what is already there, providing the support, relationships, and opportunities needed for them to blossom into their fullest potential and thrive in lasting change.
🌿 Through the Early Embrace Initiative, we equip families with tools to build strong foundations for their children. Through Accountability and Repair Conferencing, we redefine justice by fostering healing where harm has occurred.
🌸 Your support makes this possible. By attending, donating, or becoming a sponsor, you become part of the vital work of creating healing, hope, and generational transformation.
CSFY 2024 National Convening
The Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth will be hosting its first National Convening in five years! Raphah Institute is excited to join CSFY on Friday, September 27 for a panel discussing our experience with restorative and transformative justice. We will also discuss the 6th episode of Justice, USA.
A Restorative Justice Film Screening & Discussion
Join the Stoneleigh Foundation & the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth for a screening & discussion of the documentary JUSTICE, USA.
Early Embrace Graduation Ceremony
We are delighted to invite you to the Early Embrace Graduation Ceremony, celebrating the remarkable achievements of 19 dedicated women from the Napier-Sudekum community.
Inaugural Fundraising Breakfast
Join Us for our Inaugural Fundraising Breakfast (Register below)
Raphah Institute cordially invites you to our Inaugural Fundraising Breakfast, a morning of inspiration and collective action to reignite hope and forge pathways to a brighter future! This gathering is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of Raphah Institute's pivotal programs and connect with our community's compelling stories of resilience and transformation. Your participation and support are critical in helping us extend our reach and impact, offering the most vulnerable among us the chance to heal and thrive. Save your seat at our inaugural breakfast now and join us in a movement that changes lives.
Justice, USA Premier features Raphah Institute in Episode 6
The six-episode Max Original documentary series JUSTICE, USA debuts with two episodes THURSDAY, MARCH 14 on Max, followed by two new episodes weekly, concluding on March 28. The project hails from Oscar®, GRAMMY® and Emmy®-winning Common ("Silo”), Humanitas Prize finalist Marshall Goldberg (“Life Goes On”), Emmy®-winning and Oscar®-nominated executive producer Mike Tollin (“The Last Dance”) and MTP, with Think Common Entertainment’s Tamara Brown also executive producing.
Logline: JUSTICE, USA is a compelling 360-degree insider’s view of Nashville's criminal justice system, offering unprecedented access to the men’s, women’s, and juvenile jails, as we watch inmates, deputies, lawyers, and judges confront issues of incarceration, mental illness, and addiction.
Credits: JUSTICE, USA is produced by MTP: Mike Tollin Productions and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network; executive producers Common, Tamara Brown, Marshall Goldberg, and Mike Tollin; Randy Ferrell serves as showrunner.