Supporting Community Resilience

The Community Resilience Toolkit, developed by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, was created with direct input from families impacted by some of the most well-known hate crimes in U.S. history, including the families of Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr. (through the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing), Lieutenant Richard Collins III, and Heather Heyer. Their lived experiences helped shape a resource grounded not just in policy, but in the real human impact of hate-motivated violence.

The Toolkit is a comprehensive resource designed to help communities better understand, respond to, and prevent hate crimes. It brings together best practices, reporting guidance, and community-centered approaches for victims, advocates, and local organizations working on the front lines.

The Khalid Jabara Foundation contributed to the development of this toolkit by sharing lived experience and lessons learned from the family’s hate crime case. Their input helped inform guidance around victim impact, system failures, and the importance of accurate identification and reporting.

The result is a resource that reflects not only policy expertise, but the human realities behind hate crime statistics.