As a new legislative advocate, you’re probably wondering what to expect when you sign up and how to get started. As a legislative advocate, you will be “speaking” to your elected officials on behalf of constituents with the purpose of convincing them to support or oppose specific bills or themes. — You will work closely with staff and other advocates on this front, working in partnership with them to maximize impact.In this blog post, I will try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that can help set your legislative advocacy in motion.

States With Legal Recreational Marijuana Made $2.7 Billion in Tax Revenue Last Year. It’s possible. — That’s a lot of money that could go towards whatever purpose the state wishes. In states like New Jersey, thats as many as $150 million dollars going towards education, healthcare and other social services. In this article we’ll discuss the benefits of using marijuana taxes to create universal income programs…

While there are many policies drafted and bills legislated, really the only components that comprise successful reentry are skills, support and shelter. With these four components, individuals can overcome the challenges that are faced in reentry with ease. As people a released from incarceration, there are many challenges that they…

With some reformation, the current ban-the-box law can reduce recidivism while promoting equality and opportunity for all citizens. To help stop recidivism and improve reentry for people coming home from incarceration New Jersey must do more than just ‘Ban The Box’ New Jersey could get a lot closer to true…

Restorative Justice can significantly improve the state economy. There are many people in New Jersey that have a criminal background and want to get jobs or stay employed. One way to help previously incarcerated folks is by focusing on restorative justice programs. …

In New Jersey, many people lose their employment due to incarceration and other issues. However, there are programs we can create for folks through restorative justice practices. …

Today, roughly 1.5 million people are incarcerated in America. And these numbers only reflect the incarcerated population, not those who are on the inside and haven’t been sentenced. I’m going to make an assertion that will be tough for some people to swallow: if the process of preparing people…

Or Compassion: The Gift That Set Me Free Unfortunately, or fortunately this won’t be a standard ‘think about the people in prison’ post, but one about gifing. It’s a post about an unsolicited gift given in a hostile environment that ultimately saved and changed a life. I used to write these type of posts every year, but at…

As organizers, advocates or activists we have to stay busy pressuring elected officials to act on our behalf. One way for us to do that, is to consistently push for reforms at the local level that dovetail with state or federal efforts. — Below are some suggested campaigns that can be build power for and be led by directly and justice impacted people within the community. Local Level Voting Allow all formerly incarcerated people to vote in all local elections.