Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Prison system works to combat health care coverage gap by enrolling people in Medicaid before release

    With the new statewide Medicaid expansion, the Department of Adult Correction is working to ensure fewer people reenter society after incarceration and enter a healthcare coverage gap by helping people apply for Medicaid before release. With the Medicaid expansion, 80% of the 15,000 people released from prison each year are now eligible for coverage, and prison staff submit about 100 Medicaid applications each week.

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  • Incarcerated people partner with state officials to encourage voter turnout in prisons

    In Maine, one of only two states where people in prison retain their right to vote, the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP engages incarcerated voters through flyers, posters, guest speakers, and group discussions about political issues. Over the past two decades, the organization has helped more than 1,000 people register to vote in Maine prisons.

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  • Activist at 14, Burned Out by 26. Today, Emani Davis Teaches That to Change the World, You Must Also Take Care of Yourself

    The Omowale Project works to support Black and brown activists who have been impacted by incarceration. Through the Projects sessions, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, or people whose parents were incarcerated when they were a child, are taught how to self-advocate, rest and care for themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually.

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  • Philly's New Violence Intervention Program Focuses On Stability And Support

    A community violence intervention program modeled after READI is beginning in Philadelphia to connect high-risk individuals who were victims of violence or formerly incarcerated with basic needs services like therapy, employment, and housing assistance to reduce violence and recidivism. Holistic approaches like READI have already proven effective as half of participants are still working full time a year after attending the program and the program’s experimental group saw a 79% reduction in arrests for shootings and homicide.

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  • People continue to die in Pima County's jail. Could bail reform make it less deadly?

    Several counties are looking to implement bail reform as a way to address the harms people face in jail while awaiting a court date. Groups like The Bail Project have helped release 23,745 people from jail by helping pay their bail and ensure they make it to court so that bail money can go toward the next person in need.

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  • Efforts to Expand Ballot Access in Washington State Jails Face Local Pushback

    Washington lawmakers allocated $2.5 million in grant funding to help jails improve voting access for people incarcerated there, which resulted in a big spike in ballots cast in one facility that participated. But only five counties applied for the grant program, and jail officials interested in participating have faced opposition from political representatives in some areas.

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  • Cleveland voter advocacy groups get access to jails for first time in years, push for clear policies

    After a few years of virtual outreach due to the pandemic, Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates held an in-person drive in the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center to help people incarcerated there get registered to vote and request mail-in ballots. Over two days, the organization added 69 inmates to the county's voter rolls and helped 75 request ballots.

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  • Bail Reform Is Picking Up Across Counties Nationwide

    The Bail Project allows defendants to go free while awaiting trial. Bail reform takes the burden off of the poor and prevents people from losing their jobs while sitting in jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford to pay their bail, specifically for those with misdemeanor charges. In the first six months following the bail reform, there were 1,500 more people released. Following them for three years, there was a 6% decrease in prosecutions and guilty pleas and time served also dropped.

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  • D.C. Residents Are Voting from Prison This Week

    In July 2020, the District became one of three places in the country to grant people who are incarcerated the right to vote. Officials have conducted outreach to people in DC jails to make sure the are aware of their rights and the Board of Elections has provided staff with information and documents they need to ensure people can register to vote.

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  • Decongesting Nigerian correctional facilities through Technology

    Headfort Foundation provides free legal services to people who can’t afford lawyers. Through their app, Lawyers NowNow, users can access free legal advice and get connected to pro bono lawyers. The group of all-female lawyers work exclusively with people who do not have the resources to hire lawyers, especially those that have been victims of police brutality or wrongfully incarcerated. The group has worked on over 1,000 cases in three years and secured the release of almost 300 people in that time.

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