September T.O.N.E. U.P. Newsletter
Teaching Ourselves New Examples to Uplift People
September 5, 2026
Who We Are
T.O.N.E. U.P. stands for Teaching Ourselves New Examples to Uplift People. We are a justice-impacted-led organization rooted in a simple belief: the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions. Our work sits at the intersection of reentry, healing, leadership development, advocacy, and community power-building. Every day, we walk alongside people returning home from incarceration—connecting them to resources, opportunities, and relationships that support successful reentry while working to transform the systems that have historically excluded our communities.
From reentry navigation and leadership development to Clean Slate implementation, civic engagement, and policy advocacy, we are building power—not just programs.
Clean Slate Empowerment: Knowledge Is Power
At the end of August, T.O.N.E. U.P. held our first Clean Slate Empowerment session, bringing justice-impacted community members together to learn more about Minnesota's Clean Slate law and what it means for people with records. Clean Slate is about more than changing records. It is about opening doors that have been closed for far too long and making sure people understand their rights, their opportunities, and the resources available to them.
Our Empowerment sessions create space for people to ask questions, share their experiences, learn from one another, and leave with information they can actually use. We are excited to continue building these sessions and making sure justice-impacted people are not only informed about Clean Slate—but empowered to understand what it can mean for their lives.
Welcome to the Team, Lovell Oates!
We are excited to welcome Lovell Oates to T.O.N.E. U.P. as our newest Peer Navigator! Lovell is currently being trained to go inside the Ramsey County Correctional Facility and connect directly with brothers and sisters preparing to come home. He will also provide one-to-one peer support to justice-impacted people as they navigate life after incarceration.
This is what peer support looks like.
It is someone who understands the experience—not from a textbook, but from life. Someone who can sit across from another person and say, I understand. I've been there. Let's figure this out together. Lovell will be helping people connect to housing, employment, resources, community, and the relationships they need to build a strong foundation when they return home.
We are proud to have you on the team, Lovell!
2118 Blaisdell: Building Our New Home Together
Something special is happening at 2118 Blaisdell Avenue!!!!
T.O.N.E. U.P. is preparing to open our new location, and we are getting closer every day to having our groups and programming operating out of the space. We've been doing some light demo and deconstruction—pulling up carpet, painting walls, cleaning, moving things around, and getting the space ready for what's next. But one of the most beautiful parts has been watching T.O.N.E. U.P. members come through the doors to help.
People are giving their time, their energy, and their hands to help build this place. And there is a reason for that.
We all feel like this place is ours…
It is not just an office. It is going to be a place where people can come as they are. A place for T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesdays, support groups, leadership development, organizing, healing, resource connection, and community. We are building the space together because this has always been our belief: when the community helps build it, the community owns it. We can't wait to open the doors.
Voter Justice Project: Building Power Across the Country
This summer, T.O.N.E. U.P. had the opportunity to be part of the Voter Justice Project (VJP) summer convening in July. There is something powerful about bringing together organizers from across the country who are doing this work in their own communities—fighting for justice, building leadership, challenging systems, and creating new possibilities. A huge shout-out to Katrina Gamble, Desmond Mead, Dr. Charlene St, the entire VJP staff, and all of the incredible organizers who traveled from across the country to be part of the convening.
We are grateful for the relationships, the learning, the laughter, the hard conversations, and the reminder that none of us are doing this work alone. From Minnesota to communities across the country, justice-impacted people are building power and changing what is possible. We are proud to be part of that movement.
Antonio Williams and the Bush Fellowship
Our Founder and Co-Executive Director, Antonio Williams, continues his journey as a 2026 Bush Fellow. One of the most important parts of this fellowship has been giving Antonio the opportunity to slow down. After years of constantly moving—organizing, building T.O.N.E. U.P., traveling, advocating, meeting with partners, supporting community members, and carrying the weight that comes with building an organization from the ground up—Antonio has been intentional about relaxing, healing, learning, and minimizing his workload. And he's enjoying it.
But slowing down doesn't mean stepping away from the mission. Antonio continues to share the T.O.N.E. U.P. story, build relationships, speak about reentry and justice-impacted leadership, and help raise resources for the organization. The fellowship is creating space for him to invest in himself while continuing to invest in the future of T.O.N.E. U.P.
We believe our leaders deserve that same opportunity to breathe, grow, learn, and take care of themselves that we encourage for everyone else. Sometimes leadership means knowing when to slow down so you can come back stronger.
T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesdays
T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesdays continue to be one of the most important spaces we hold for our community. Week after week, people are showing up, building relationships, sharing experiences, learning together, and—most importantly—getting connected to resources.
Whether someone needs help navigating reentry, finding employment or housing resources, learning about their rights, or simply needs a place where they can be around people who understand, T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesdays continues to be a space where people can come through the door and know they are welcome. As we move into our new space at 2118 Blaisdell, we are excited about what these gatherings will become. This is more than a weekly meeting. It is community.
The Civic Care Package: You Don't Have to Figure It Out Alone
This month, we are excited to officially highlight the launch of our Civic Care Package. The Civic Care Package was created specifically with justice-impacted people in mind. When someone comes home from incarceration, there can be so much to figure out at once—identification, housing, employment, transportation, healthcare, voting, legal resources, community support, and so much more. Sometimes, having a trusted resource in your hands can help quiet some of that uncertainty.
Our Civic Care Package brings together a comprehensive collection of information, resources, and connections designed to help people navigate those first steps. But the package represents something bigger than the resources inside of it. It is a reminder that you are not alone. Your release is not the end of your journey. It is the beginning of a new chapter—and your community is here to walk with you.
If you are justice-impacted and have been released recently, reach out to T.O.N.E. U.P. and connect with us so you can receive a Civic Care Package. You don't have to figure everything out by yourself.
Building Stronger Reentry Partnerships
T.O.N.E. U.P. continues to build relationships with organizations that are doing important work in reentry and supportive services across our communities. Over the past several months, we have completed site visits with RS Eden, 180 Degrees, and Better Futures, and we are excited about what these relationships can become. Our goal is to bring T.O.N.E. U.P. programming, groups, peer support, and relationship-based reentry services directly into these spaces while creating opportunities for cross-collaboration.
When organizations share resources, knowledge, relationships, and lived experience, community members have more opportunities to get what they need. We are excited about bringing T.O.N.E. U.P. into these facilities and creating stronger connections between the many organizations working to help people successfully return home.
Community Partner Spotlight: End Slavery in Minnesota
This month, we want to give a special shout-out to our community partners at End Slavery in Minnesota. We are especially proud to stand behind their decision to promote Max Graves, a justice-impacted leader, to the position of Executive Director. This is exactly the kind of leadership we believe in.
Justice-impacted people should not simply be invited into conversations about our communities. We should be leading them. Max has lived experience, leadership, vision, and a deep understanding of the systems and communities this work impacts. T.O.N.E. U.P. fully supports and stands behind Max and is proud to see another justice-impacted person stepping into executive leadership. Congratulations, Max!
When people closest to the problem are trusted to lead, we create new possibilities for the future.
ONS Partnership: Real Support, Real Impact
Our work through the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) contract continues to demonstrate what is possible when reentry services are rooted in relationships, lived experience, and peer support. Through the first half of 2026, ONS contract partners served 296 people, hosted 17 restorative circles, and connected 17 people with support before their release from Ramsey County Correctional Facility. There were also 31 participants in restorative-justice circles across the partnership. For T.O.N.E. U.P., this work is personal.
As one of our Peer Navigators shared:
“This work is personal. Every time I walk into the Ramsey County Workhouse, I’m not just showing up as a service provider—I’m showing up as someone who lived that reality. That changes everything.”
That is the difference lived experience makes. We don't walk into these spaces believing we have all the answers. We walk in ready to listen, build relationships, share resources, and remind people that there is a community waiting for them when they come home. The ONS partnership has helped us continue developing our peer navigator model and strengthening the bridge between incarceration and community. That's the work. That's the impact. And we are just getting started.
Showing Up Daily: Real Support, Real Impact
Every day, T.O.N.E. U.P. continues to walk alongside community members navigating reentry. From Ramsey County Correctional Facility to T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesdays, from Clean Slate Empowerment sessions to one-to-one peer navigation, from our Civic Care Packages to our growing network of reentry partners, we are continuing to build a system of support around people—not just a list of services. We know that successful reentry is about more than getting someone a referral.
It is about relationships. It is about having somebody answer the phone. It is about having somebody who understands. It is about knowing where to go, who to call, and having people in your corner when things get hard. We are here. And we are building something that lasts.
Thank You to Our Funders, Partners, Members, and Supporters
Nothing we build happens alone. To every person who has pulled up to 2118 Blaisdell to help us paint or pull up carpet. To every person who has attended a T.O.N.E. U.P. Tuesday. To every community member who has trusted us with their story. To every Peer Navigator who continues to walk alongside people coming home. To every partner opening their doors to T.O.N.E. U.P.
To our volunteers, funders, supporters, organizers, and friends—we say thank you.
Thank you for believing in justice-impacted leadership. Thank you for believing in second chances. Thank you for helping us create new examples.
And thank you for helping us build a community where people coming home from incarceration can know something simple but powerful:
You are not alone.
Together, we are building stronger communities, stronger families, and stronger leaders across Minnesota.
In Solidarity,
The T.O.N.E. U.P. Team
Teaching Ourselves New Examples to Uplift People