Root & Rebound

In the year she was out of prison, Gwen Levi, 76, was thriving. She moved in with her mother, was building her relationship with her sons and grandsons, and was volunteering with advocacy organizations. On June 12, she attended a computer word-processing class, during which she was away from her phone. She was reincarcerated for being out of contact for a few hours with the officials supervising her. She is now at the D.C. jail awaiting transfer to a federal facility. This i...s why we advance the work we do at Root & Rebound to fight the punitive impact of our criminal legal system that refuses to recognize the humanity of people like Gwen. Even under probation/parole, people are not free and we must fight with these systems to make sure going to class, going to work, and taking care of family needs is NEVER punished. Please share her story: http://ow.ly/O1vo50Flo1W

CALL TO ACTION Root & Rebound's Second Chance Justice Collaborative is working with LiveWell Greenville's Food Security Coalition to raise awareness about the lack of access to SNAP/TANF benefits for people with drug felony charges in South Carolina. South Carolina is currently the ONLY state in the US that has a total lifetime ban on SNAP/TANF benefits for people with drug felony charges. We're looking for people with stories about how this policy has negatively affected them to help with advocacy efforts. If you know of anyone who might be willing to share their story or if you want to learn more, please reach out: [email protected].

CHARLESTON, SC FREE REENTRY LEGAL CLINIC! Speak with an attorney to learn about your legal rights with an arrest or conviction record. During the clinic we will provide legal advice and assistance related to expungements, pardons, parole and probation, family and children, and housing. You can also register to vote!... DATE: Thursday, July 15, 2021 | 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. ET LOCATION: Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 7396 Rivers Ave., North Charleston, SC 29406 SIGN UP: Call Root & Rebound at (864) 546-5089 or email [email protected].

Please join Root & Rebound for a Know Your Rights training on Monday, June 28th, from 12 - 2 p.m. PT about obtaining employment with a record. Learn about the rights of people with arrest and conviction records under CA’s Fair Chance Act (AB1008) and Occupational Licensing Reform (AB 2138). These laws help protect people with records in their employment process. This training will cover: - What employers can and cannot consider about your record; - Your rights in the Fair C...hance process; and - How to advocate for yourself with employers. - This training is meant for people with arrest and conviction histories, their loved ones, and advocates. Open to residents of Sacramento County. RSVP today: bit.ly/kyr-training The activities described were supported in part by the California Community Reinvestment Grants Program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

We agree with Alameda County Public Defender, Brendon Woods, that a first step to reforming our criminal justice system and its lasting impacts on people's lives is changing the language we use: "by ending the use of dehumanizing language, we can begin to support the fair recognition of people as just that people." https://www.sfchronicle.com//Opinion-Language-matters-How-

Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Check out Amend at UCSF 's vaccine FAQ for the justice-involved community: https://amend.us/covidvaccinefaq/

In the Georgia runoff elections on Tuesday, Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate. This has big implications for the criminal legal system it boosts Biden’s capacity to get judicial appointments confirmed and makes federal legislation aimed at changing the criminal legal system more viable: https://apnews.com//georgia-election-results-4b82ba7ee3cc7

This our world and this is our society and I contributed to it, so I have to help make it better. Van was arrested for a felony when he was only 16. He served 25 years in prison. In 2019, he was released and found himself starting at square one at 41 years old. Rebuilding his life with a record felt daunting. What’s more, Van faced the additional threat of deportation because he’d immigrated to the U.S with his family as a child. Shortly after returning home, Van was re...ferred to Root & Rebound. We helped Van get his work permit so he could provide for himself and his family. We also helped him prepare an application for a pardon which, if granted, would allow him to legally stay in the U.S. Today, he works full time as a policy organizer. Watch and share Van’s story of justice, liberation, & healing: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7857707/video/483291315 We’ve set a goal of raising $150,000 to fuel our work through the new year. Your support will allow us to continue to partner with and advocate for clients like Van. Help us ensure access to justice for all: bit.ly/JusticeLiberationHealing

The union for California state correctional officers has invited representatives from every prison to gather in Las Vegas for a board of directors meeting. This is reprehensible going against guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19 puts the lives of thousands of incarcerated people at risk, with coronavirus outbreaks already surging in state prisons. http://ow.ly/7uEZ50D2Jtq A dozen state prisons have reported more than 200 new COVID-19 infections in the last two weeks, and another six have reported more than 100 new infections. More than 2,500 prison employees have reported new infections in the last two weeks and about 13,000 out of 55,000 have contracted the virus since the start of the pandemic.

Root & Rebound is a team of lawyers, advocates, and activists committed to creating a more just and restorative society. We carry out this work through an innovative model which combines interconnected prongs to dismantle racial and economic inequity from all sides Educate, Advocate, Reform. Read more about our work this year in our 2020 Interactive Annual Report: https://www.rootandrebound.org/annual-report/ Our goal is to raise $150,000 from donors across the country before the end of the year. We hope you will be inspired to support! Donate: bit.ly/JusticeLiberationHealing

Yesterday's events at the Capitol were an assault on democracy and demonstrate the selective racial disparity in law enforcement's response to different movements. Protests after the George Floyd killing were met with tear gas, riot gear, and flash grenades. The overwhelmingly white crowd acting violently at the Capitol yesterday was handled gently by comparison. The contrast makes it clear whose voices and lives are valued and protected by the current system, and whose voices and lives are not. https://nyti.ms/3s18p8F

President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has chosen Deb Haaland, a congressional representative from New Mexico and 35th generation Native American, to lead the Interior Department, an agency that has historically perpetuated the dislocation and abuse of Indigenous communities from coast to coast. Halaand would make history as the first native land protector leading a cabinet-level position. She belongs to the Laguna Pueblo people and her ancestors have been in New Mexico for thousands of years. This is a long-overdue act of justice, and means amazing things for native peoples and their lands. An important reminder that a more just, restorative world is always worth fighting for. https://nyti.ms/2LLeaqq

Root & Rebound’s 2020 Interactive Annual Report is live! We’re so excited to share what our team, and the people and families we support each day, were able to accomplish despite this year’s unending adversities. Take some time to read through the interactive report and take in the full picture of what you our community have made possible through your belief and investment in our work: https://www.rootandrebound.org/annual-report/ From all of us at Root & Rebound, thank you for all the ways you support our work. We have a goal of raising $150,000 from donors across the country before the end of the year. We hope you will be inspired to support! Donate: bit.ly/JusticeLiberationHealing

2020 had us shifting like never before! But community care held strong. Throughout 2020, Root & Rebound's Fresno Women's Reentry Employment Initiative (FWREI) met virtually to share space, grow, and lean on each other. We finished off our year by getting right with our personal missions. We're grateful to Marc Vahanian, with The Kinship Project, who helped FWREI prepare for 2021 with the "7 Keys to Success". Through his leadership development coaching, he helped us align with our purpose and our power. Thank you Marc!

SAN BERNARDINO, RIVERSIDE, BAY AREA Root & Rebound is hosting three days of FREE virtual legal clinics, November 17th-19th, for people with arrest or conviction records who reside in San Bernardino County, Riverside County, or the Bay Area. At these telephone clinics, we'll be providing legal information about navigating barriers to reentry related to employment, housing, public benefits, family & children, immigration, parole & probation, and more. An appointment is required for these clinics. Call (510) 279-4662 or visit bit.ly/NovClinic to RSVP!

If it’s not safe to travel during #ShelterInPlace, how is it safe to transfer hundreds of incarcerated people across the state? There are active COVID-19 cases at all 33 CA state prisons. We need #ReleasesNOTTransfers! We need to #StopCDCROutbreak! @CACorrections @GavinNewsom Sign and Share the #ReleasesNotTransfers Petition we want to get 1,000 signature in the next hour. Please help us out. http://www.change.org/StopTheTransfers

As we await the results from the presidential election, take a moment to read about the outcomes of state-level ballot measures central to criminal justice reform. Some states, like California and Oregon, passed historic changes on Tuesday: https://www.themarshallproject.org//7-states-where-voters-

Prop 17 passed last night! Important win re-enfranchising the vote for many people with records. #FreeTheVote #DemocracyNeedsEveryone

Today, R&R's Women's Support and Social Services Manager, DeJone Watts, says: "I was told I couldn’t vote because I was "a felon." Well the law determines, THAT WAS A LIE!! Working at Root & Rebound, I know my rights and exercised them for the first time today voting in Fresno, California!" #ElectionDay #VOTE

Tomorrow is election day do you know your rights? General voter rights on election day: - If the polls close while you’re still in line, stay in line you have the right to vote! - If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask for a new one.... - If the machines are down at your polling place, ask for a paper ballot. - If someone tells you that you can’t vote for any reason, demand a provisional ballot and vote as you planned. Make sure to keep your receipt so you can check later if your vote was counted. - If you run into any problems or have questions on Election Day, call the Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE / 1-866-687-8683 Sources: - ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/voting-rights/ - Let Me Vote CA: https://www.letmevoteca.org/how-to-vote/voting/ - Election Protection: https://866ourvote.org/ - NCSL Info on Provisional Ballots: https://www.ncsl.org//elections-a/provisional-ballots.aspx

Join Root & Rebound's Fresno Women's Reentry Employment Initiative for six sessions with executive coach, Marc Vahanian. WHEN: 6PM - 7PM on Nov. 6, 13, 20 & Dec. 4, 11, 18 To attend, contact DeJone Watts at [email protected] to receive a Zoom link invite.

SOUTH CAROLINA Election day is Nov. 3! From R&R and our Election Protection partners, here's what to know when you VOTE in this final stretch.

R&R’s Kate Weaver Patterson on voting with a criminal record in South Carolina:

With a few exceptions, citizens held in state and federal prisons cannot participate in the democratic process. Incarcerated journalists Juan Haines and Kevin Sawyer wrote about a mock election conducted at San Quentin State Prison. In addition to casting a vote, participants were given space to comment on their reason for voting. "One man, explaining his reason for voting, wrote simply: 'We need to heal.'" https://www.theguardian.com//san-quentin-prison-covid-19-i

We’re fast approaching the Nov. 3 election next Tuesday, and the elections of prosecutors and sheriffs across the country are vital to the future of the criminal legal system at the state and local levels. They help to decide whether public safety means ramping up incarceration and policing, or, if on the other hand, it means shrinking the imprint of the criminal legal system. They could decide local issues like whether or not the death penalty is sought, simple drug possession is prosecuted, or counties partner with ICE. Each of these races could make a huge difference. From The Appeal, here are 30 key sheriff and prosecutor elections to watch that could challenge mass incarceration: http://ow.ly/wCOs50C4ihS

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Root & Rebound is currently seeking one volunteer to support us with 10 hours/week of work, or multiple volunteers to contribute to 10 hours/week of work in support of our in-prison program! The in-prison program we run at Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla aims to prepare people who are currently incarcerated for reentry trough a series of workshops addressing twelve topics. See our site for full duties and responsibilities of the in-prison program volunteer and information about how to apply: http://ow.ly/tCgT50C39jJ

By increasing access to higher education for justice system-impacted students in California, our state gains from more diverse perspectives in higher education, talent and growth potential for the workforce, greater civic participation, and the leadership of scholars with unique and valuable expertise to share. California’s new law passed in August 2020 is a monumental win for the Ban the Box in Higher Education movement as it is the first to specifically cover both public a...nd private schools, as well as graduate school programs. Read more from Root & Rebound & our partners Project Rebound at Sacramento State, Unlock Higher Ed, Stanford Pain Medicine , and The Michelson 20MM Foundation here: http://ow.ly/lpJw30rgyR9 #BTBHE #BanTheBox #UnlockHigherEd #EquityIsJustice