The League for Safer Streets

We’re building a home for those impacted by the justice system to reclaim their narratives and reshape the future. We support underestimated leaders who drive lasting change in their communities, and in the public policies that impact their communities.

The League for Safer Streets is a transformative movement empowering system-impacted individuals to reclaim their purpose, unite as change agents, and reshape their communities. Founded by Paul Taylor and Jawad Abdu, who served over 40 years combined for gang-related crimes in their youth, the League is a story of redemption and resilience.

Taylor and Abdu met while incarcerated in a Virginia maximum-security prison, where, despite being separated for years, they followed parallel paths of personal growth and leadership. Both vowed to break the cycle of incarceration and help others succeed after release. While in prison, Taylor mentored inmates in a re-entry program, eventually leading all state-mandated programming, and Abdu founded workshops on critical topics like conflict resolution, fatherhood, and PTSD.

Together, they co-created the RVA League for Safer Streets, a basketball league and empowerment program designed to connect former inmates with young adults and local law enforcement. With the motto “No Workshop No Jump Shot,” The League emphasizes personal development, offering workshops on life skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence—skills that help participants make better life choices and build stronger communities.

After Abdu’s release in 2016, and with Taylor contributing from prison, they partnered with Robert Morris, a pioneer of Richmond ‘midnight basketball,’ to launch the program in 2017. The first season was held in high-crime hours in Richmond’s public housing areas, and Taylor led the first workshop in person after his parole, on his 11th try, at the end of 2017.

What began as a shared vision behind bars is poised to grow into a nationwide movement to build a home for system-impacted individuals to feel valued and relevant, and to organize as agents of change in their communities, and of the public policies that impact their communities.