Safe & Just Communities

At the Hudson-Webber Foundation, we believe everyone deserves to feel safe, supported, and respected in their neighborhood. Our investments in justice and safety focus on reducing harm, advancing equity, and empowering Detroiters to lead change.

Strategic Focus

  • Reduce mass incarceration and its long-term impacts
  • Strengthen community-based strategies that build neighborhood safety
  • Test and refine innovative approaches to policing
  • Advance systemic reforms that drive lasting policy change

We envision a Detroit where safety is community-led, justice is equitable, and all residents—especially those impacted by systemic inequities—can live with dignity and without fear.

What We Do

Objective

  • Strengthen neighborhood safety by empowering residents and community organizations
  • Reduce crime and victimization through innovative, racially equitable strategies that enhance community well-being
  • Build public safety together by fostering stronger relationships between law enforcement and Detroit residents

“Having worked as a public defender from my first day out of law school, I have seen first-hand the ways in which clients are vulnerable to the ravages of the legal system. Being accused of a crime should not mean losing your job, your housing or access to your children – by addressing all these issues holistically, we can help people and communities remain intact” 

— Kristine Longstreet, Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service

Grant Highlights 

  • Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan: Granted $1,200,000 to support the Michigan Justice Fund in creating the enabling environment needed to advance justice reform initiatives statewide
  • Force Detroit: Awarded $1,050,000 to strengthen its neighborhood-based Community Violence Intervention Strategy and provide general operating support
  • Detroit Public Safety Foundation: Approved a $400,000 grant to enhance and sustain Detroit’s Mental Health Co-Response (MHCR) program, a collaborative initiative that reduces reliance on emergency systems by connecting individuals in crisis to appropriate care
  • Detroit Justice Center: Awarded $450,000 for general operations to improve the lives of Detroiters impacted by incarceration and to advance economic and racial equity in Detroit and beyond

These investments reflect our commitment to fund systems-change initiatives and promote racially equitable public safety solutions.

What We Do