Resources

Alternatives to Incarceration

  • National Association of Pre-Trial Services Agencies, Washington, DC
  • National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, Alexandria, VA
  • National Institute for Sentencing Alternatives, Waltham, MA
  • National Moratorium on Prison Construction, Washington, DC
  • Pretrial Services Resource Center, Washington, DC

Decriminalization

Books to Prisoners / Library

General

  • Books for Prisoners, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Books to Prisoners c/o Left Bank, Seattle, WA
  • Books Through Bars, Philadelphia, PA
  • Bound Together Books, Prisoner Literature Project, San Francisco, CA
  • Claustrophobia, Baltimore, MD
  • Inside Books Project, Austin, TX
  • Prison Book Program, Jamaica Plain, MA
  • Prison Book Project, Amherst, MA
  • Prison Library Project, Claremont, CA
  • Prison Outreach Program of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Virginia Beach, VA
  • RAZE the WALLS!, Athens, GA
  • Serve the People, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Women’s Prison Book Project, Minneapolis, MI

Religious

  • American Bible Society (Bible and study guides), New York, NY
  • Human Kindness Foundation (interfaith spiritual books and catalogues of “hard to find books”), Durham, NC
  • Islamic Center (Koran and study guides), Washington, DC
  • Jewish Prisoners International (Old Testament, study guides, and services on tape), Seattle, WA
  • Rock of Ages Prison Ministry (King James bible), Cleveland, TN

Control Unit Prisons

  • National Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons, c/o American Friends Service Committee, Newark, NJ or Philadelphia, PA

Death Penalty

  • Abolition Road, Rohnert Park, CA
  • Amnesty International, New York, NY
  • Capital Punishment Project of the ACLU, New York, NY
  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New York, NY
  • National Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Philadelphia, PA
  • National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Washington, DC
  • Murder Victim’s Families for Reconciliation, Atlantic, VA
  • Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty Project, Philadelphia, PA
  • Southern Center for Human Rights, Atlanta, GA

Disability

  • Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Washington, DC

Drugs / Addiction

  • Lindesmith Center of the Open Society Institute, New York, NY
  • Alcoholics Anonymous, New York, NY
  • Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet), Washington, DC
  • Family Council on Drug Awareness, Los Angeles, CA
  • National Council on Alcoholism, Washington, DC
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD
  • November Coalition, Coleville, WA
  • The Razor Wire Newspaper c/o The November Coalition, Coleville, WA

Gay / Lesbian / Bisexual / Transgender

  • Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), Boston, MA
  • Gay and Lesbian Prisoner Project, Boston, MA
  • Gay and Lesbian Rights Project of the ACLU, New York, NY
  • Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York, NY
  • National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Washington, DC
  • Out of Control Lesbian Committee, San Francisco, CA

General Prison Issues / Prisoners’ Rights

National Resources

  • Anarchist Black Cross Federation, Patterson, NJ
  • American Correctional Association, College Park, MD
  • American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, PA
  • Center on Crime, Communities and Culture, New York, NY
  • Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), Washington, DC
  • CopWatch, Berkeley, CA
  • Critical Resistance, Oakland, CA
  • Human Rights Watch Prison Project, New York, NY
  • Food Not Bombs, San Francisco, CA
  • JusticeWorks Community, Brooklyn, NY
  • National Institute of Corrections, Boulder, CO
  • Prison Activist Resource Center, Berkeley, CA
  • Prison Moratorium Project, New York, NY
  • Refuse and Resist, New York, NY

State / Local Resources – East

  • Family and Corrections Network, Richmond, VA
  • Pennsylvania Prison Society, Philadelphia, PA
  • This Just In, Pittsfield, MA

State / Local Resources – South and Southwest

  • Coalition for Prisoners Rights, Santa Fe, NM
  • RAZE the WALLS, Orlando, FL
  • Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons, Nashville, TN

State / Local Resources – Midwest

  • CEGA Services, Inc., Lincoln, NE
  • Prison Action Committee, Chicago, IL
  • Sons and Daughters of the Incarcerated (SADOI), Ann Arbor, MI

State / Local Resources – West

  • California Prison Focus, San Francisco, CA
  • Prison Radio, San Francisco, CA
  • Visions for Prisons, Costa Mesa, CA

Government

  • U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Washington, DC

HIV / AIDS

  • AIDS Education Project, National Prison Project of the ACLU, Washington, DC
  • AIDS in Prison Project of the Osborne Association, Bronx, NY
  • Fortune Society, New York, NY
  • HIV in Prison (HIP) Committee of California Prison Focus, San Francisco, CA
  • National AIDS Clearinghouse, Rockville, MD
  • National AIDS Hotline: 1-800-342-AIDS (English), 1-800-344-SIDA (Spanish), 1-800-243-7889 (TDD)
  • Prison Project of the Latino Commission on AIDS, New York, NY
  • Prisoners with AIDS Rights Advocacy Group (PWA RAG), Los Angeles, CA or Jonesboro, GA
  • Women’s Positive Legal Action Network (Women’s PLAN), Oakland, CA

Health Care

  • National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Chicago, IL
  • Return to Health Project of the Prison Action Committee (women’s health care), Chicago, IL

Juvenile / Youth

  • Alternatives for Girls, Detroit, MI
  • Juvenile Rights Project, Portland, OR
  • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, San Francisco, CA
  • National Juvenile Restitution Association, Reno, NV
  • New Directions / National Female Advocacy Project, Tucson, AZ
  • Project SEEK: Services to Enable and Empower Kids, Flint, MI
  • Sons and Daughters of the Incarcerated (SADOI), Ann Arbor, MI or Belleville, MI
  • Youth Law Center, San Francisco, CA

Legal

  • Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY
  • D.C. Prisoners Legal Services, Washington, DC
  • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, San Francisco, CA
  • National Clearinghouse for Legal Services, Chicago, IL
  • National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Washington, DC
  • National Legal Services, Atlanta, GA
  • National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, Washington, DC
  • National Senior Citizens Law Center, Los Angeles, CA
  • Prison Law Project, National Lawyers Guild, San Francisco, CA
  • Prison Legal News, Seattle, WA
  • Prison Legal Services of Michigan, Jackson, MI
  • Prison Reform Advocacy Center, Cincinnati, OH

Political Prisoners

  • National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War, Chicago, IL
  • Out of Control Lesbian Committee to Support Women Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, San Francisco, CA
  • Walking Steel / Can’t Jail the Spirit Newsletter, Chicago, IL

Race

  • NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York, NY
  • National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Washington, DC

Re-entry  /  Ex-offender Services

  • Fortune Society, New York, NY
  • Offender Preparation and Education Network (OPEN), Dallas, TX

Religious / Spirituality

  • Aleph Institute, Surfside, FL
  • Institute for World Spirituality, Chicago, IL
  • International Coalition for Jewish Prisoner Services, Washington, DC
  • International Prison Ministry, Dallas, TX
  • Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Office of Crime and Justice, Akron, PA
  • National Convocation of Jail and Prison Ministers, Washington, DC
  • Prison Fellowship International, Washington, DC
  • Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Boston, MA

Research  /  Policy

  • Sentencing Project, Washington, D.C.
  • Justice Policy Institute, Washington, DC
  • National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Washington, D.C.
  • National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, Alexandria, VA

Sentencing

  • Families Against Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Washington, DC
  • Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes, San Jose, CA

Sexual Assault / Rape

  • Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc., New York, NY
  • Women’s Rights Project of Human Rights Watch, New York, NY

Statistics

  • Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC
  • National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Rockville, MD
  • National Coalition for Jail Reform, Newark, NJ

Veterans / Military

  • Members Opposed to Maltreatment of Service Members (MOMS), Frederick, MD
  • National Veterans Legal Services Project, Washington, DC
  • Veterans Education Project, Washington, DC

Visitation / Support

  • Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS), Philadelphia, PA

Volunteers

  • Association for Volunteer Administration, Boulder, CO
  • Partner, Inc., Denver, CO
  • National Association for Volunteers in Criminal Justice, University, AL
  • Volunteers in Prevention, Prosecution, Probation, Prison and Parole, Royal Oak, MI
  • Volunteer:   The National Center for Citizen Improvement, Boulder, CO

Women

National Resources

  • The Fire Inside Newsletter, San Francisco, CA
  • JusticeWorks Community, Brooklyn, NY
  • Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, San Francisco, CA
  • National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, Philadelphia, PA
  • National Clearinghouse for Legal Services, Chicago, IL
  • National Network for Women in Prison c/o CLAIM, Chicago, IL
  • National Organization for Women Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York, NY
  • National Roundtable for Women in Prison (annual conference) c/o CLAIM, Chicago, IL
  • National Women’s Law Center, Washington, DC
  • Reproductive Freedom Project of the ACLU, New York, NY
  • Transformation Newsletter (quarterly), Little Rock , AR
  • Women’s Human Rights Program, Amnesty International USA, New York, NY
  • Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, New York, NY
  • Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU, New York, NY

State / Local Resources – East

  • Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (AIM), Boston, MA
  • Alderson Hospitality House, Alderson, WV
  • Delaware Center for Justice, Wilmington, DE
  • My Sisters’ Place, White Plains, NY
  • Women’s Advocate Ministry in Courts and Jail, New York, NY
  • Women’s Prisons Association and Home, New York, NY

State / Local Resources – South / Southwest

  • Aid to Imprisoned Mothers, Atlanta, GA
  • Battered Women’s Program, Baton Rouge, LA
  • Women’s Advocacy Project, Austin, TX
  • Women’s Project, Little Rock, AR

State / Local Resources – Midwest

  • Assistance Center, Kalamazoo, MI
  • Chicago Legal Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM), Chicago, IL
  • Ecumenical Women’s Center, Chicago, IL
  • Horizon House, Milwaukee, WI
  • Institute of Women Today, Chicago, IL
  • Latino Family Services, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Light Center, Columbus, OH
  • Project SEEK:   Services to Enable and Empower Kids, Flint, MI
  • Sons and Daughters of the Incarcerated (SADOI), Ann Arbor, MI  or  Belleville, MI
  • Women’s Project of the Prison Reform Advocacy Center, Cincinnati, OH

State / Local Resources – West

  • California Coalition for Women Prisoners, San Francisco, CA
  • Come into the Sun Coalition, San Francisco, CA
  • Forever Free, Frontera, CA

Writing / Pen Pal Programs

  • P.E.N. American Center, New York, NY

Municipal Court Reforms

Immigration Detainer Policies

Diversion Programs

Racial Impact Tool for all Criminal Justice Legislation

Bans on Bias Based Policing

Consent to Search

Community Oversight

Data Reporting

Body Cameras

Special or Independent Prosecutors

Inspectors General or Oversight Commissions

Demilitarize Local Police Forces

Use of Force

Improved Training

Organizing 101

Beyond Policy

  • Here is a template of a Mayoral Pledge to end police violence: http://www.policylink.org/equity-tools/policing-mayoral-pledge
  • The peacemaking program at the Red Hook Community Justice Center uses traditional Native American practices to resolve disputes that originate in either the justice system (in the form of a court case) or in the community. Peacemaking sessions, which are facilitated by trained peacemakers from the community, are designed to enable those affected by the dispute to “talk it out” and reach a consensus agreement for restitution and repair: http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/peacemaking-program
  • The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) works with licensees and affiliates around the world to make certain restorative practices are presented in a culturally appropriate manner and that programs are affordable and sustainable within the framework of local needs and resources: http://www.iirp.edu/
  • The Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth Program works to mitigate the consequences of punitive school and juvenile justice policies by promoting institutional shifts toward restorative approaches that actively engage families, communities, and systems to repair harm and prevent re-offending: http://www.rjoyoakland.org
  • Audre Lorde Project’s The Safe Neighborhood Campaign seeks to empower community members to be proactive in preventing anti-LGBTST violence, intervene when violent situations arise, and build stronger relationships between LGBTST people of color, our allies and the community as a whole: http://alp.org/community/sos
  • CURE Violence is a state supported program which seeks to use community members to deter and deescalate violent situations in communities. Many organizations have noted that once programs are state-sponsored they may be co-opted or include undesirable punitive consequences: http://cureviolence.org/
  • Rose City Cop Watch “Alternatives to Policing” https://rosecitycopwatch.wordpress.com/alternatives-to-police/
  • Listing of local programs from across the country: http://www.derailthejail.org/site_derail/Alternatives.aspx