History of JUST

1985                    Bishop Joseph Imesch of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet commissions an examination of DuPage County Jail inmate needs

                 Life skills classes for women, remedial education classes for men, and social services for men and women begin

1986                    Need for full-time service in DuPage County Jail is realized, and an ecumenical non-profit corporation is formed

JUST of DuPage begins with Sister Juanita Ujcik as Executive Director

DuPage County Jail provides office space, furnishings, supplies, utilities, telephones, and duplication services

JUST of DuPage is incorporated

1987                    Evening education programs begin with literacy volunteers

Jail chaplaincy comes under umbrella of JUST of DuPage

JUST of DuPage becomes a registered 501(c)(3)

1989           Sue Breneman becomes Executive Director of JUST

1991           GED, Substance Abuse, and Health Awareness programs come under the umbrella of JUST of DuPage

1996           Judith Grote becomes Executive Director of JUST

1998           First computer lab is established with donated computers

2000           Companions Journeying Together, Inc. begins bringing Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project into DuPage County Jail      

                  through JUST, allowing inmates’ children to receive a book and a recording of their parent reading to them

                  Computer lab for female inmates is established

                  Book Club is formed for female inmates

2002                     Rev. Ray Anderson becomes Executive Director of JUST

2003                     JUST begins offering Bible Study, Anger Management, Job Readiness, and Basic Computer to Spanish-speaking inmates

2007           In partnership with College of DuPage, JUST begins offering English as a Second Language (ESL) to male inmates

2009                     Following Rev. Anderson’s retirement, Annie Rose becomes Executive Director of JUST

                        Computers in both male and female computer labs are replaced with newer donated machines

      2010           In partnership with Literacy DuPage, JUST begins offering literacy tutoring to inmates