EFE’s   approach  to  research-driven,   narrative-based advocacy  began in 2020  inside   MCI–Norfolk,  emerging  from a  prisoner-led  research subcommittee   within  the  African-American Cultural Committee  (AACC).   That year,  the   committee   conducted  an  informal   study  of    more  than  250 incarcerated   residents   convicted  of  violent  infractions, revealing  a   stark imbalance   between   pervasive  exposure  to   community   violence  and limited   access to   pretrial   mental  health   and  trauma   assessments.

The   findings   revealed   three  consistent   patterns: prolonged exposure  to violence from youth into adulthood; a decreased likelihood that defendants of color    would  receive   mental   health  evaluations despite    a    higher prevalence  of mitigating conditions;  and, as  a  result,   an  elevated    risk of disproportionate   overcharging  and   sentencing.

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In    2024,   EFE   formalized  this research   through a   partnership with    the Racism-Based  Violence  &   Injury Prevention  Lab at Boston College’s  School of Social Work,   launching  a one-year   follow-up  study in  2025.   The collaboration  bridges  research  grounded   in the lived  experiences   of violence-impacted  populations   with  rigorous  academic  inquiry,  ensuring community-generated  evidence  informs  meaningful  policy  conversations around healing,   accountability,  and  community  repair.