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

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 362 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • The Cities Funding Legal Defense for Immigrants

    As the struggles of refugees and immigrants drudges on, a number of cities across the US are gathering funding for their legal defense. One strategy, a legal counsel program called New York Family Immigrant Unity Project, has proven so successful that it now has 19 other counties in states like Colorado and Georgia participating in their network. Beyond that, these public defense projects often comprise of both public and private dollars and are all working for the right (not guaranteed by the US Constitution) to have access to legal counsel during immigration proceedings.

    Read More

  • One Indiana congregation's fight for energy equality

    Despite disputes between an Indianapolis church and a local utility company over net metering, the congregation continues to seek financing and resources for renewable energy-centered affordable housing projects. The church installs solar panels on housing development projects to make long-term housing more affordable, though they've faced push back based on strict housing laws that limit affordability of multi-family projects.

    Read More

  • Stuck in detention: For immigrants without lawyers, justice is hard to find

    In Dane County, Wisconsin, one of 13 sites in the nation served by a program to give immigrants held in detention access to free legal help, attorneys greatly increase the odds that their clients can successfully fight deportation by winning their release pending a final court ruling in their cases. Immigrants represented by counsel, who also are reunited with their families and can continue working, are more than six times as likely to be allowed to stay in the U.S. as those who lack legal representation.

    Read More

  • They threw this mom in jail over a probation violation. These activists bailed her out.

    Across the United States, Black Mama’s Bail out bailed out hundreds of black women in time for Mother’s Day. The organization accepts donations to pay bail for women cannot afford it on their own as part of their larger goal of ending the cash bail system and mass incarceration. Research shows that while black women are increasingly one of the largest groups of incarcerated individuals, and yet simply posting bail has led to a majority of these cases being dropped.

    Read More

  • #FreeBlackMamas works to bail black mothers out of jail in time for Mother's Day

    Community organizing groups around the country have mobilized to get black mothers out of prison. The initiative #FreeBlackMamas has raised over $1 million dollars in donations since 2017 and comes as a growing response against the cash bail system. Besides bailing out black mothers, the groups seek to build community and address the larger systemic issue of race and incarceration.

    Read More

  • Rent Law Offers Reprieve to Some of Los Angeles' Most Vulnerable Families

    The temporary passage of a new ordinance has capped rent increases to three percent and allowed some families in Los Angeles County to successfully push back on no-cause, or unjustified evictions. The ordinance provides just-cause protection which requires a landlord to prove a tenant either damaged the property or did not pay their rent on time. The just-cause protection allows families some reprieve from evictions, without which many would be homeless. Tenant advocates are pushing to make the legislation permanent.

    Read More

  • As ICE Releases Hundreds of Asylum-Seekers at a Time, Phoenix Churches Step in

    A series of churches in Phoenix, Arizona are stepping up to help migrant families released by ICE by providing them up with a place to stay temporarily, medical care, donated supplies, and the beginnings of a plan to find a place to stay. So far volunteers have estimated that they have helped over 60,000 migrants with no end in sight.

    Read More

  • “What Does the World Beyond Jails and Prisons Look Like?”

    The Detroit Justice Center is providing a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of poverty in the county. The nonprofit law firm provides immediate support, like paying back child support and posting the cash bail payments that keep those experiencing poverty trapped in a cycle of debt and imprisonment. The group also aims high in their larger efforts to disrupt the criminal justice system, like suing the county to prevent the building of a new jail complex, and provides their clients and the community the chance to reimagine what the city could look like with transformative and economic justice.

    Read More

  • By Forgiving Warrants and Fines, Communities Give People a Fresh Start

    Stand With Dignity, a grassroots, community organizing group in New Orleans, has coordinated warrant clinics for those driving with suspended licenses. These clinics have forgiven $2 million worth of traffic fines and reinstated licenses for hundreds of individuals, in the hopes of breaking the cycle of unpaid fines, which is often a driver of unemployment and poverty.

    Read More

  • 'Someone To Speak For You': Low-Income Tenants Get Lawyers For Housing Court

    New York City has pioneered one of the nation's first programs to provide free legal services to low-income tenants under threat of eviction. Recent studies have indicated that evictions declined more in cities that had implemented right to counsel, and more cities are looking to follow New York's example as they work to prevent housing instability and homelessness.

    Read More