Mindfully Restored Forensic Social Work & Justice Support Program

10/13/2026

Okay NC, now that we've checked our registration…let's talk ID. 🪪🗳️

North Carolina voters will be asked to show an acceptable photo ID when voting—but a driver's license isn't your only option.

And here's something you may not know: some expired IDs can still be accepted. There are also options for voters who are unable to show an acceptable photo ID. NCSBE.gov
So don't assume. Don't guess. Know before you go.
Take a few minutes now to check what you have and review the official requirements before early voting begins.
💜 Save this post.
💜 Send it to the group chat.
💜 Share it with somebody who may not know their options.

Facilitating Empowerment Through Civic Education

10/08/2026

⚖️🌿 BEFORE WE EXPECT CHANGE, WE MUST UNDERSTAND HUMAN NEEDS.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs reminds us that human behavior is influenced by more than individual choices.

How can someone focus on long-term goals when they are worried about where they will sleep tonight?

How can someone prioritize emotional healing when they are struggling to meet their most basic needs?

For individuals navigating the justice system, challenges involving housing, employment, food insecurity, mental health, and community support can create significant barriers to stability.

Rehabilitation requires more than accountability. It also requires access to resources, stability, and opportunities for growth.

Understanding human needs doe not eliminate personal responsibility. It helps us recognize what may be necessary to support meaningful and sustainable change.

⚖️ Mindfully Restored
Where Mental Health Meets Justice.

10/06/2026

Quick question, NC…are you actually registered? 👀🗳️
Don't wait until it's time to vote to find out that something needs your attention.
Take a few minutes to:
✔️ Check your voter registration
✔️ Make sure your address is correct
✔️ Confirm your voting district
✔️ Take a look at your sample ballot
📅 NC's regular voter registration deadline is Friday, October 9 at 5 PM.
Miss the deadline? Eligible voters may still register and vote during the early voting period, October 15–31. NCSBE
Check now. Be ready later. 💜
Save this post—and send it to the group chat because we're not letting anybody get to Election Day unprepared. 😂
Facilitating Empowerment Through Civic Education

10/03/2026

Join us live via Zoom for Legal Aid of NC's Listen & Learn webinars, where we cover a different topic every session! Our next session on Criminal Record Expungement happens Tue, Oct 6th at 2:30 PM. Register for free today at www.legalaidnc.org/events

10/02/2026

10/02/2026

💜 October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

At Mindfully At Peace PLLC, we stand with survivors, honor those whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence, and recognize the courage it can take to seek safety, support, and healing.

Did you know?

On average, it can take a survivor 7 attempts to leave an abusive relationship before leaving for good.

Leaving is not always as simple as “just walking away.” Survivors may face fear, financial dependence, isolation, threats, concern for their children, emotional attachment, lack of housing or resources, and increased danger when attempting to leave.

That is why we should replace:

❌ “Why don’t they just leave?”

with:

💜 “How can I/we support?”

Domestic violence can include more than physical harm. It may involve emotional or psychological abuse, intimidation, financial control, isolation, stalking, threats, manipulation, and other behaviors intended to maintain power and control.

This month, let’s create communities where survivors feel heard, believed, supported, and safe—whether they are preparing to leave, have returned to the relationship, have already left, or are still figuring out what comes next.

💜 Mindfully At Peace PLLC

TraumaInformedCare

09/29/2026

Meet Miss Shay! ✨

Shayonna Branch, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and behavioral health leader with experience in clinical practice, crisis intervention, Family Centered Treatment, outpatient therapy, clinical supervision, staff development, and community-based services. Throughout her career, she has worked with individuals and families navigating complex behavioral health needs, trauma, family challenges, crisis situations, and involvement with social service and community systems.

Shayonna’s passion for forensic social work developed through witnessing how deeply a person’s environment can influence their ability to experience stability and success. Through her work, she has seen how circumstances such as trauma, family dynamics, behavioral health needs, socioeconomic challenges, limited resources, and other environmental factors can shape a person’s experiences and opportunities. She believes that understanding those circumstances is an important part of understanding the individual—not simply the situation that brought them into the judicial system.

This perspective is what inspired Shayonna to help co-create Mindfully Restored | Forensic Social Work & Justice Support Program.

She recognized that there is a need for support that extends beyond the individual involved in a legal matter. Families experience the impact of justice involvement alongside their loved ones, and they may also be navigating their own emotional, relational, financial, and practical challenges. Shayonna believes that supporting the individual while also recognizing the experiences and needs of the family can provide a more complete understanding of the circumstances surrounding a case.

Through Mindfully Restored, Shayonna brings a clinical social work perspective to the intersection of behavioral health, family systems, and the justice system. Her work considers the individual's developmental and family history, trauma and adverse experiences, behavioral health, substance use, socioeconomic circumstances, strengths, resilience, protective factors, and barriers to stability and treatment engagement.

Her goal is not to define an individual by their legal circumstances, but to help provide a fuller picture of the person, the environment, the family, and the factors that have shaped their journey.

09/29/2026

Hi, I’m Keiro! 👋🏽

I’m the Founder and CEO of Mindfully At Peace, PLLC, and a creator of Mindfully Restored, our forensic social work initiative.

My interest in the justice system began long before I entered the field of social work.

Growing up, I became curious about the different paths I saw people around me take. I saw firsthand how quickly someone’s life could shift—from school and everyday life to circumstances that brought them into contact with the justice system. I also began recognizing patterns in how young people could move from challenges in the classroom to discipline, exclusion, and eventually involvement with larger systems.

At the time, I didn’t have the professional language for what I was observing. I just knew I had questions.

How did someone get here? What happened before this moment? What opportunities for support or intervention were missed? And why did some people seem to encounter systems of punishment before they ever encountered systems of support?

As I got older, those questions introduced me to concepts like the school-to-prison pipeline and helped shape my interest in criminal and juvenile justice.

That curiosity eventually became part of my educational journey. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from North Carolina Central University, with a concentration in Juvenile Justice and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. I later earned my Master of Social Work and built my career in behavioral health.

Looking back, I can see that my interests in criminal justice and social work were never separate. Both came from the same desire to understand people, their environments, the systems surrounding them, and the circumstances that can influence the direction of their lives.

Today, those two parts of my journey come together through Mindfully Restored.

For me, forensic social work is about seeing the person beyond the paperwork. It’s recognizing that a charge, court case, probation status, or period of incarceration may tell us what happened, but it doesn’t necessarily tell us how someone got there.

I believe accountability and compassion can exist in the same space. Understanding someone’s history doesn’t mean excusing their choices. It means recognizing that if we want to support meaningful change, we have to be willing to understand the whole story.

And in many ways, that’s what I’ve been curious about from the very beginning:

What’s the story behind the story?

09/29/2026

09/29/2026

There are multiple pathways to recovery. Where you live should never determine your access to recovery support. Expanding recovery resources in rural communities helps ensure everyone has a path forward.

988va.org