The After Life Initiative is the brainchild of Keeairra and Keefe Dashiell. These siblings grew up in South Central in a broken community with limited access to resources and opportunities to make something of their lives and surrounded by gang violence. The lack of a sense of purpose and hopelessness associated with this environment pushed Keeairra and Keefe to engage in crime, resulting in their incarceration.
While in the system, these siblings found insight in the harm that their decisions were causing to themselves, their loved ones, and the community. They decided to change their lives and make amends by dedicating their energy and efforts to learning how to become productive, responsible, and dependable members of society, and helping other system-impacted individuals to achieve this goal. This decision resulted in the birth of The After Life Initiative, aimed at promoting restorative justice and the rehabilitation, healing, and successful reintegration of individuals released from incarceration.
The After Life Initiative continues to grow and have a positive impact on the community by championing equitable access to opportunities and resources that newly-released individuals can use to advance their lives and stay away from crime. Our organization works with government agencies, local municipals, organizations, and other stakeholders in the criminal justice reform space to provide re-entry services, housing, and facility-based rehabilitative programs to ensure a smooth transition and integration into society for individuals that have undergone incarceration.
We firmly believe that there is some good in everyone, and it only takes courage, understanding, and a strong will to break free from the oppressive mindset associated with growing up in underprivileged communities, find your purpose, and work tirelessly toward its fulfillment. We also advocate for a shift in policies from focusing on locking up individuals to deter crime to creating opportunities for them to be part of building inclusive, peaceful, and productive communities. Our ultimate objective is to give back to our community by enhancing public safety and cutting the pipeline from juvenile facilities to county jails and then prison.
Prevention•Rehabilitation•Reentry
Who we are
The After Life Initiatives aims to promote restorative justice and facilitate the rehabilitation, healing, and successful reintegration of those released from incarceration back into society. Our goal is to contribute positively to our community; enhance public safety and break cycles that lead people to juvenile facilities, county jails and eventually prison. Through advocacy, we strive for a shift in policies, moving away from the approach of locking up individuals to deter crime, and instead, fostering opportunities for them to actively participate in building peaceful and productive communities.
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The After Life Initiative empowers system impacted individuals to thrive by creating real pathways to a higher quality of life.
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Wherever you are, whatever has happened, whatever you’ve done, anyone can be anything.
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The After Life Initiative is the brainchild of Keeairra and Keefe Dashiell. These siblings grew up in South Central in a broken community with limited access to resources. MORE
Founders
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Keeairra Dashiell is a co-founder of The After Life Initiative. She has a passion for helping system-impacted individuals successfully reintegrate into society after serving time. Keeeairra was sentenced to 19 years to life and was incarcerated for 14 years. Her lived experience gives her invaluable insight on matters involving rehabilitation, re-entry, and crime prevention. She serves as an advocate for women, spearheading rehabilitation programs inside prisons, facilitating re-entry services, and advocating for policy changes for incarcerated women.
Keeairra is currently enrolled in law school and aspires to become a civil rights and public-interest lawyer. Her desire is to serve the underprivileged members of her community and help them to stay away from crime and avoid incarceration. While incarcerated she obtained degrees in Social and Behavioral Sciences and American Studies. Additionally, she earned a paralegal certification. Today, Keeairra focuses on reshaping the narrative of recidivism. She dedicates her time, effort, and resources to ensuring that newly-released individuals reintegrate successfully into society, seizing their second chances to improve their lives and become valued community members
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Keefe Dashiell is an entrepreneur, software engineer, and co-founder of The After Life Initiative. In 2007 at the age of 19, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and served 13 years before California Governor, Gavin Newsom, commuted his sentence. Keefe used his time in incarceration to rehabilitate himself by engaging in self-help programs and earning two college degrees. He learned how to build software and code computers, which enabled him to change his life trajectory from South LA to the California prison system to the tech industry as a software engineer.
Keefe's profound personal transformation, experiences and the insights he gained during his time in prison inspired him to collaborate with his sister, Keeairra, to establish The After Life Initiative.Through this organization, he hopes to leave a significant positive mark and change his community for the better by partnering with players in the criminal justice system to uplift and empower the lives of system-impacted people. His ultimate objective is to serve as a real-life example of overcoming poverty, struggle, and crime associated with living in neighborhoods like the one he grew up in and becoming skilled, productive, and upstanding individuals.
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See our work in action!
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