Am proud to be a member of the leadership circle of an organization that is doing so much to help existing and aspiring professionals in the community food system movement, as well as providing essential technical guidance to grassroots organizations across the country

Staying silent is not an option. The monsters among us are not the majority. Those of us who believe in human dignity and the Constitution outnumber, by far, the loathsome creatures that have slivered out from under the rocks where they belong. 

This is not the America I know, or want my children, neighbors and friends to grow up in. We should want a robust immigration system and community. That will make us a better country in every way!

I gave because I care and want to be a defense for my neighbors.

ل دعم اخواني واهلي في غزة

NAFSN is a professional association of people working to strengthen their local & regional food systems.

The [North American Food Systems Network](https://foodsystemsnetwork.org) (NAFSN) works at the forefront of the food systems profession itself, providing networking opportunities, resources, career guidance, leadership opportunities, training, webinars, podcasts, and a comprehensive jobs board for people at all levels of this critical-change work. 

NAFSN also convenes subject matter experts to develop training and open-access tools specifically for community-based food systems professionals. 

We envision a future in which food systems practitioners have the tools and support to effectively support the development of viable local and regional food systems that offer rewarding economic opportunities for producers as well as provide access to healthful, safe, reliable, affordable, biodiverse and culturally-diverse connections to food for all.

**Your support helps NAFSN provide inclusive, affordable, easy-to-access, professional development opportunities for all involved in community food systems work.** 

If you value a diverse, place-based, well-informed workforce at the helm of every community's food systems, support NAFSN today!

\*\*\*

NAFSN's mission stems from our collective knowledge that the world’s dominant food structures have undermined the well being of Earth and all its inhabitants, including humans. Urgent issues related to food and agriculture that reduce the resilience of communities include:

- the ubiquity of diet-related human diseases
- farmer economic insecurity, aging-out, mental health concerns
- unjust and unsafe working conditions of farm workers
- farmland loss
- inability for new and historically marginalized farmers to access farmland & resources
- degradation of soil, water, air
- confined, disease-prone livestock
- disparities in rural communities
- lack of local infrastructure supporting food processing and distribution
- poor access to healthful foods in many communities
- disregard for traditional knowledge of regenerative practices
- climate change threatening food production
- industrial food production contributing to climate change
- multi-cultural foodways lost and replaced with cheap, highly-processed products sold as food

Effective solutions to these issues will address the interrelated challenges across both food and nutrition security and climate change and work towards transforming national and global food systems. This work will include strategies to promote local and regional food systems, which have been shown to reduce food waste, support local economics, increase the biodiversity, freshness, and nutritional value of foods, and reduce food insecurity. 

NAFSN knows that this workforce requires unique skills, science-based knowledge, and trust-based networks. We offer learning and networking opportunities for practitioners at all career points (emerging, transitional, seasoned) to help this workforce become better known, valued, and engaged in driving meaningful change. We lean toward newcomers, and value lived experiences and activism as cornerstones of this profession.

NAFSN is a project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that accepts all funds on our behalf.

North American Food Systems Network

An urgent lifeline to local organizations providing legal and bond support to immigrant families and individuals who need it most.

**The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is powered by everyday people, like you, stepping up and building a vital lifeline to support our immigrant neighbors, loved ones, and communities against injustice.**

We all deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. Yet every day, immigrant families are forced to navigate a complex and punishing immigration system alone, **without access to legal counsel**. Even young children, the most vulnerable members of our communities, are facing trained prosecutors without anyone by their side.

**This is why the Defending Our Neighbors Fund exists.** 

Today, there are more than 6 million U.S. households who have a family member at risk of detention or deportation. Right now, the federal government is funneling $170 billion of our taxpayer dollars to dramatically increase enforcement in our cities, all while slashing funding for legal service organizations who provide critical support for immigrants and make sure they have access to a lawyer. The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is a rapid-response effort to meet this urgent need for legal representation head-on, working to ensure families have access to life-saving legal support, and when possible, bond assistance.

**Access to legal representation makes a profound difference in whether families can stay together.**

As people's due process rights continue to be violated — affecting tens of thousands of people who are immigrants, children, and even U.S. citizens and green card holders — the need for legal counsel is skyrocketing. Studies show that in 2024, there were more than 2.5 million cases in immigration court where people did not have legal representation. Having access to a lawyer is often the difference between a family staying together or being separated indefinitely. 

To meet the ballooning demand in this moment, the Defending Our Neighbors Fund is quickly deploying high-impact grants to trusted organizations providing legal and, when possible, bond assistance to communities in need, this includes organizations that are:

- Serving communities with large immigrant populations
- Serving communities in legal deserts, and
- Serving communities near some of the country’s most active immigration detention and processing centers

**In this moment of division, we must all come together to defend our neighbors.** 

Supported by United We Dream and the ACLU, the Defending Our Neighbors Fund is hosted by Abundant Futures Fund (a fiscally sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors), and aims to raise and deploy $30 million to grassroots organizations to meet this crisis with action and care.

**We, the people, will power this movement with small dollar contributions. Your donation supports trusted organizations providing legal representation and, when possible, bond assistance, to communities in need.**

Thank you for helping us defend our communities at such a critical moment. Your support makes all the difference.

Defending Our Neighbors Fund

Empowering Palestinians since 1983 through education, culture and relief programs in Palestine and beyond. Together, we build hope

**Taawon (Welfare Association)** is a **non-profit**, **civic organization** launched in **Geneva** in the year **1983**, upon the initiative of a group of **Palestinian and Arab economists** and intellectuals.
**Taawon has become one of the largest organizations operating in Palestine and the diaspora camps in Lebanon**, whereby it touches the lives of **more than one million Palestinians** on an annual basis, with half of these beneficiaries being **women**.
**Since its establishment, Taawon has invested funds reaching nearly US $900 million, dedicated to development and relief programs.**

**Taawon’s record** over the past 40 years reflects a journey full of achievements reinforced by **strong partnerships**.
Taawon’s long and rich experience has enabled it to:

- Overcome **obstacles** and **difficult conditions** due to the **Israeli occupation**
- Find **innovative and creative solutions** to crises
- Remain responsive to needs despite **social and economic instability**

Taawon maintains a presence in:

- **Palestine**
- **Jordan**
- **Lebanon**
- **Switzerland**
- **Great Britain** (via its sister organization)

Its **interventions reinforce the steadfastness** of **Palestinian citizens** in **Palestine** and the **refugee camps in Lebanon**.

**Taawon aims to:**

- **Empower Palestinian individuals** and **civil society institutions**
- Strengthen **identity**, **freedom**, **democracy**, and **human values**
- Preserve **Palestinian cultural heritage**, highlighting its **unique position**
- Unleash the creative energies of **youth**, **women**, and **children**
- Provide **equal opportunities** for all segments of society
- Promote **creativity** and **excellence** despite the most difficult circumstances

**Taawon works in partnership** with civil society organizations through:

- Purposeful planning
- High-standard policies

Guided by:

- The **Universal Declaration of Human Rights**
- The **United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)**
- The **Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity**

🏅 *Awards & Recognition:*

- **Taawon Awards for Excellence & Creativity**, granted annually to those advancing **sustainable development in Palestine** 
- Recipient of the **Mahatma Award (2018–2020)** for **COVID‑19 humanitarian efforts** [taawon.org](https://www.taawon.org/en/content/awards-received?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

***Our Vision****:*

*“To envision the Palestinian people as citizens of an independent, free, democratic Arab Palestine, living in dignity, prosperity and self‑fulfillment.”*

Taawon (Welfare Association)

Reproductive Futures is the legal frontline of reproductive care. 

We focus on creating access to telemedicine abortion, emergency care and post-abortion care nationwide. 

Reproductive Futures

Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is a community organization dedicated to providing sanctuary to writers whose works are suppressed.

Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) is a community organization dedicated to providing sanctuary to writers whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, or whose languages are endangered. ICOA is a member of the International Cities of Refuge Network, one of only three member cities in the United States. Formed in 2001, ICOA has hosted writer, poet, and essayist Yi Ping; the late playwright and novelist Reza Daneshvar; poet and memoirist Sarah Mkhonza; poet and playwright Irakli Kakabadze; journalist Sonali Samarasinghe; journalist and memoirist Raza Rumi; political cartoonist Pedro Molina; poet, novelist, and satirist Dmitry Bykov; and filmmaker, writer and puppeteer Arthur Groys.

**The problem**

In many places in today’s world, writers face persecution for the statements they make in their art. Every writer who is silenced means one less voice to speak for thousands more against oppression.
 
**Our approach**

ICOA hosts one writer at a time (plus family members) for a two-year residence in partnership with a local institution of higher learning. Currently, our artist serves as a Visiting Affiliate Artist at Ithaca College. Cornell University has hosted past writers and currently provides substantial financial sponsorship. 

Our visiting writers teach, share their work through public events, and form alliances with local organizations. The resident benefits from a place to live, time to write, financial support, and community. Ithaca gains the perspective, friendship, and artistry of each visiting resident.
 
**Our team**

ICOA is a volunteer board of up to 20 members.
 
**Contact information** 

Jason Freitag, Advisory Board Chair
ithacacityofasylum@gmail.com
   

Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA)

Sass Go is a nonprofit that protects and supports survivors, their families, and the professionals who serve them.   

SASS Go's work ensures prevention education and support for survivors of physical and sexual violence, their families, and the professionals who serve them. That work has served over 30,000 people on four continents since receiving its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2019. The future of SASS Go includes a state-of-the-art campus in the Midlands of South Carolina, which we lovingly call The Banks. Fundraising efforts for this legacy project are underway now. To learn more, go to thebanksus.org. 

SASS Go

An organization focused on education. It received its nonprofit status in 2022.

Benjamin Runga Foundation Inc

Open Doors English is an English as a Second Language Program for adults in Ithaca, NY. All students are welcome!

Open Doors English's mission is to “offer English classes so that adults can participate fully in community life, advocate and care for themselves and their families, and pursue their goals.” Our student body is comprised of immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, farm workers, and temporary residents. All students are welcome, and ODE has served 200-300 students per year since opening in 2019. 

At Open Doors English, students:
- Develop or improve their ability to speak, read, write, and listen in English
- Build the confidence needed to communicate effectively in everyday life situations.
- Learn communication and language skills to perform in current and future jobs
- Acquire advanced language skills and training to pursue educational opportunities
- Increase their understanding of American culture and society
- Receive assistance and make connections to other community resources and agencies
- Connect with people, organizations, and events in the Ithaca area
- Have fun while learning
- Find belonging in a community of international friends

Open Doors English is a project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which accepts all funds on our behalf.

Open Doors English

Ellis County Children's Advocacy Center provides justice, hope, and healing to child victims of abuse across Ellis County, Texas.

The Ellis County Children's Advocacy Center is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for child abuse victims and their families. We offer comprehensive services, including forensic interviews, counseling, and advocacy, to help children find hope and healing and seek justice. Our multidisciplinary team collaborates closely with law enforcement, medical professionals, and child protective services to ensure that each child receives the care and protection they need. By fostering a compassionate and child-focused approach, we strive to break the cycle of abuse, provide the support child victims of crime need, and build a brighter future for the children in our community.

Ellis County Childrens Advocacy Center

An interfaith network of congregations in the Washington, D.C. area working together to support our immigrant neighbors.

CAN mobilizes people of faith and faith communities throughout the DC metro area to advocate and organize for immigration rights. Our goal is to ensure immigrants have access to housing, healthcare, education, food, and legal protections. We work closely with experienced immigration groups and listen to immigrants from our faith communities to create a safe, welcoming place for everyone, no matter where they're from.

Congregation Action Network

A grassroots coalition in VA and WV dedicated to protecting water, land, and people from harms caused by extractive industries.

Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) is an interstate coalition representing individuals and groups from Virginia and West Virginia dedicated to protecting water, land, and communities from harms caused by the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). 

We are part of a growing grassroots movement to stop fossil fuel expansion in Appalachia, including the MVP, and to kick-start the transition to a just and renewable future. We integrate the broader context of this pipeline fight into all our work, as part of a united fight to stop all new fossil fuel projects in the United States, combat environmental injustice, and meaningfully address the climate crisis.

Protect our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR)

At the Courthouse Dogs Foundation, we believe in **a justice system that embodies compassion and understanding**. Our mission is to transform the experience of individuals navigating the complexities of the criminal justice system by utilizing professionally trained dogs that provide essential emotional support and unconditional love in high-stress environments. These remarkable animals have the ability to ease anxiety, offer comfort, and foster a sense of safety, ensuring that everyone—ranging from young victims to domestic violence victims and vulnerable witnesses—they get the chance to feel heard, valued, and respected in their justice journey.

Strategically, we are committed to strengthening our financial foundation to cultivate sustainable growth. We envision a future where innovation and collaboration flourish, enabling us to expand our reach and deepen our impact. Our goal is not just to maintain our programs but to enhance and elevate them, ensuring that we can touch even more lives with the healing presence of our courthouse dogs.

Every single life we impact matters. With your support and generosity, we can multiply the positive effects of our work, creating a ripple of compassion and hope throughout the justice system. Together, we can make a profound difference, one life at a time.

Courthouse Dogs Foundation

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a volunteer-based, non-government organization whose goal is to prevent animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy, based in Quezon City, Philippines.

PAWS also runs an animal shelter for over 300 cats and dogs rescued from cruelty or neglect. There, animals are rehabilitated in the hope of finding them new homes and a second chance at a good life.



There is also a low-cost clinic that provides veterinary services to the indigent community, including spay and neuter (kapon).



See more details: [About PAWS • The Philippine Animal Welfare Society](https://paws.org.ph/about-us/)

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society

Call us when you need help with a civil legal matter and can't afford an attorney on your own.  


Civil laws are designed to guarantee certain legal rights for all U.S. citizens. However, without meaningful access to the courts, these laws are merely words on paper. Legal Aid ensures that justice is within reach for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for an attorney.

Legal Aid, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm, is committed to ensuring justice is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy, but a fundamental right for everyone, even if they can't afford an attorney. We provide free legal assistance to thousands of individuals and families in Arkansas' 31 northern counties through our six client walk-in offices. Our work helps secure safe housing, protect consumer rights, foster economic stability, and advocate for people escaping domestic violence. We are also home to the Arkansas Fair Housing Project, working to ensure everyone is afforded the protections guaranteed via the Fair Housing Act. Through our co-location with Arkansas Children's Hospital, we help families address the social determinants of health that impact their well-being. Join us in building a more just society where everyone can access civil legal protections. Your donation today will make a lasting impact on our community.

Unless otherwise noted, all donations will be applied to Legal Aid's General Fund.

Legal Aid of Arkansas receives funds from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). Legal Aid complies with the LSC Act, 42 USC §§ 2996 et seq., regulations, 45 CFR Part 1600, et seq., appropriations riders, and all other applicable law. See, Pub. L. 104-134(1996).

Legal Aid of Arkansas

Ranked Choice Voting Maryland is a non-partisan coalition seeking to build a more effective, representative democracy.

**Why is Ranked Choice Voting Great for Maryland?**

In ranked choice voting elections, the candidate who reflects the views of the widest number of voters wins. Even in crowded fields, similar candidates can compete without splitting votes. Whether Republican, Democrat, independent or third-party, voters never have to worry about the “spoiler effect.”

We rank things all the time and express our preferences when we are shopping, going out to eat, etc. **Elections do not reflect how we make choices everyday.** 

**Maryland is Ready!**

Maryland is poised to expand better elections at the local, county, and state level. Our voting system is ready for ranked choice voting. Marylanders across the state are eager for more choice and a stronger voice in electing leaders.

**RCV is a WIN-WIN for voters and candidates!**

- **Eliminate Spoiler Effect** - Candidates do not need to worry that their campaign will help another candidate win by splitting the vote or being asked to “wait their turn."
- **Fully Express Your Vote** - When you have multiple candidates that you support, you can better express your intentions and preferences.
- **End Non-Majority Winners** - Ranked choice voting respects the will of the people and helps to elect the candidate preferred by a winning margin of voters.
- **More Civil Campaigning** - Candidates run competitive, yet civil campaigns to appeal to a broader base of voters.

Ranked Choice Voting Maryland

MCES provides behavioral health services to all in need while advocating for their rights, individual dignity, and recovery.

**Montgomery County Emergency Service** saves lives and improves the quality of life for all Montgomery County residents through suicide prevention, mental health crisis intervention training for law enforcement, a psychiatric EMS ambulance – one of a few in the world, and inpatient psychiatric care. These programs are available to people regardless of ability to pay, reduce costs to the criminal justice system, make communities safer, and ensure that people with mental illness have access to high-quality, trauma-informed, strengths-based, recovery-oriented, and dignified care. Our services promote self-determination, hope, and empowerment, prioritizing living in community whenever possible. 

Montgomery County Emergency Service

Supporting Iya Tahirah ensures her wisdom, resilience, and sacred legacy continue to uplift future generations.

Honor the Elders recognizes Iya Tahirah Abubakr as an exemplary Elder and Wisdomkeeper and is pleased to be raising funds to provide a gift in recognition of her lifelong service to her community. We believe that when we provide needed support to Elders and wisdomkeepers, the whole community benefits. 

Through the Grandmother Project and Honor the Elders, we provide services and gifts to exemplary Elders and wisdomkeepers whose work is aligned with the purpose of Nourishing Futures, who have lived a life of service to their communities, and whose life circumstances require financial resources to help cover the basic costs of food, shelter, health care, and medicine. All funds raised will be re-gifted to Iya Tahirah Abubakr, in honor of her life of service.

**Who is Iya Tahirah?**

Iya Tahirah AbuBakr, born River Lee Adams, was raised in Pocahontas, Mississippi as the eldest of seven children in a family of sharecroppers who turned hardship into strength and purpose. At seventeen, she left Mississippi for New Orleans, and in her early twenties moved to New York City, where her community activism within the Black Liberation Movement laid the foundation for a lifelong path of service as a social worker and community leader.

Her spiritual journey led to initiation into **Ifa** by **Ifa Priestess Yemọja**, grounding her in the ancestral Yoruba traditions of West Africa. A graduate of Social and Cultural Anthropology from IU Indianapolis, and trained in shamanism with **Malidoma Somé**, she emerged as Iya Tahirah AbuBakr—medicine woman, diviner, shamanic practitioner, and founder and co-founder of the St. Croix Council of Elders.

Iya Tahirah has dedicated her life to the service of humanity, with a deep commitment to nurturing youth and leaving the Earth better than she found it. Supporting Iya Tahirah ensures her wisdom, resilience, and sacred legacy continue to uplift future generations.

 **What is going on with her health?**

On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, Iya Tahirah was found alone in her home and rushed to the hospital, having suffered physical injury from a fall that was a result of an [ischemic stroke.](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24208-ischemic-stroke-clots) 

At first, the prognosis was dark (she only had days to live). We believe now that this was a combination of her condition (we estimate 36 hours between the stroke and when she was found), and the doctor’s inability to see beyond the facts (age, race) and into the truth. Iya Tahirah has shown that she is cogent, lucid, and generally aware of what is going on. She has begun the long walk to recovery and she needs our support, now. 

If you want to know more about Iya's current condition, you can [go here.](https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-iya-tahirahs-healing-journey)

Iya Tahirah Abubakr, Honor the Elders Exemplary Elder

The Homeless Resource Center offers rest and resources to those experiencing homelessness in Lawrence, Kansas.

The mission of the Homeless Resource Center is to offer a daily refuge with basic services to provide physical and emotional comfort for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Homeless Resource Center 

Libera, a catalyst for emancipatory practices that transforms criminalization into reproductive dignity for all.

**Libera** is an independent initiative born from the 53-year legacy of Planned Parenthood Global. *Libera* builds on decades of global experience advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Around the world, authoritarian regimes and anti-rights movements are intensifying, deepening the criminalization and violence that deny people their autonomy. *Libera*, an initiative led from the Global South, was created to meet the urgency of this moment. 

**What We Do**

- **Transforming the legal landscape to end abortion criminalization**
- **Driving narrative change towards collective liberation**
- **Expanding access to reproductive health services**

**How we do it**

- **Policies that transform**
- **Justice that heals**
- **Narratives that liberate**
- **Services that dignify**

Rooted in principles of justice, dignity, and feminist governance, *Libera* is a catalyst for emancipatory practices that put people and communities at the center. To achieve this mission, we amplify historically marginalized voices, support innovative solutions, and foster collaborations that reimagine justice in Africa and Latin America. Our work fosters South-South cooperation between Latin America and Africa, regions where abortion criminalization continues to deny reproductive dignity to millions of people. 

*Libera* envisions a world where every individual has complete freedom to shape their life and future, free from violence and coercion. In this world, the communities most impacted by injustice shape the systems that govern their realities, thus affirming their rights and dignity.

Libera

Artists' Television Access is an all-volunteer, artist-run, underground and experimental media arts gallery founded in 1984.

Artists’ Television Access is a San Francisco-based, artist-run, non-profit organization that cultivates and promotes culturally-aware, underground media and experimental art. We provide an accessible screening venue and gallery for the presentation of programmed and guest-curated screenings, exhibitions, performances, workshops and events. We believe in fostering a supportive community for the exhibition of innovative art and the exchange of non-conformist ideas.

Artists' Television Access

At the heart of our Garden Council are 40+ community gardens, each nurturing an ecosystem of health, connection, and resilience. 

With more than 2,000 members spanning diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Community Garden Council is a dynamic force for positive change in Los Angeles. From Watts to Pasadena, Santa Monica to East Los Angeles, our 47 community gardens serve as vital hubs of activity and collaboration, offering access to fresh food, opportunities for education and engagement, organizing smart environmental and community-oriented policy and advocacy, and a shared space for neighbors to connect and thrive.

Join us as we cultivate a healthier, greener, and more resilient city for all. Together, we can sow the seeds of change and cultivate a brighter future, one garden at a time.

Los Angeles Community Garden Council

MAS promotes justice, dignity and equity by partnering on migrant-identified health, legal, and educational needs.

These are frightening and uncertain times for our migrant neighbors, with heartbreaking reports of masked federal agents raiding workplaces and homes to violently arrest, detain, and deport migrant workers. Increased immigration enforcement is separating U.S. born children from their parents, often without due process or a valid legal basis. Migrant
Advocacy and Support (MAS) partners with migrants to respond to this changing environment by:                                                                                                             

Assisting families in completion of emergency preparedness documents to prepare for the event of one or both parents being separated from their children:                                                       • temporary guardianship                                                                                                           • parental permission to travel,                                                                                                   • power of attorney, and                                                                                                         • authorization to pick up paychecks) 

Helping migrant understand their rights in a changing legal environment and how to respond in an encounter with federal agents. 

Trainings on “How to Speak with Children about Immigration Rights, Detentions and Family Separation” to prepare for the event of family separation.

Training volunteers to meet the needs of migrants.

Providing health, legal and educational referrals to migrants. 

Migrant Advocacy and Support

GirlTREK is one million Black women walking to heal our bodies, inspire our daughters and reclaim our neighborhoods. 


GirlTREK began with a simple but life-saving promise between two friends: to walk their way to better health and inspire others to do the same; and it is now a grassroots movement powered by everyday women. We are the women we serve. Now, GirlTrek is mobilizing this constituency for its boldest mission yet: a Care Crusade to extend Black women’s life expectancy by 10 years in a decade. These bold campaigns—scaling to 5 million members, establishing community wellness hubs “Care Villages”, training a Blue Brigade of health responders, and advancing policies to dismantle systemic barriers—will build lasting systems of care and inspire future generations.

GirlTrek

We develop public safety solutions for the District of Columbia that are evidence-driven, community-rooted, and racially just.

DC Justice Lab is a team of law and policy experts researching, organizing, and advocating for large-scale changes to the District’s criminal legal system. 

DC Justice Lab envisions a District that:
- Treats every person as an essential part of our community and no longer subjugates, dehumanizes, or jettisons people who have broken the law.
- Recognizes that it has historically underserved and overpoliced poor people and Black people, creating and subjugating an undercaste that is system-involved.
- Takes dramatic measures to rectify and reverse the harm it inflicted.
- Constantly reexamines its rules and practices to ensure they are calibrated to make us collectively safer, freer, and equal. 
- Ends its reliance on police, prosecutors, and prisons, in favor of solutions that maximize safety and freedom for all.
- Ensures its criminal legal system cannot be weaponized by the powerful against the poor.
- Eradicates the root causes of economic and violent crime.

We promote decarceration, compassion, and giving people the tools and resources they need to thrive. We work with and transfer power to DC residents most impacted by criminal laws and policies.

DC Justice Lab

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We are a nonprofit, so instead of charging fees we rely on the generosity of donors like you.

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North American Food Systems Network

Defending Our Neighbors Fund

Defending Our Neighbors Fund

Taawon (Welfare Association)

Defending Our Neighbors Fund

Reproductive Futures

Justice