Through the month of June, we will be donating 20% of sales to the Kansas City Community Bail Fund, an organization formed to assist the Black community by providing bail assistance.
From their website:
With our founders coming from a social work and social service background working specifically with the homeless community in Kansas City, we aim to begin by providing bail assistance to young adults receiving case management and/or services through community agencies - especially those funded through the KC Continuum of Care. We are starting small, so we want to ensure the recipients of bail assistance through are fund have supportive services in place to assist with complying with pretrial conditions and making it to court. We also want to assist this population because we have noticed a trend in our work of homeless individuals, youth, and families being targeted by the police and the criminal justice system by being ticketed, charged, and jailed often for minor offenses, such as trespassing by sleeping outside. Being homeless, the likelihood of being able to afford the bail set for them is rather slim. In addition, those enrolled in HUD funded programs lose their housing after 90 days of incarceration, as well as a large chunk of their homeless status which makes them eligible for such programs. Many people who cannot afford bail are stuck in jail for months, resulting in the loss of jobs, custody of children, and housing. By starting with the homeless community, we aim to be successful, grow, and expand the population in which we intend to serve.
The KCCBF founders have experienced firsthand and witnessed the effects of pretrial detention and the victimization of the poor. We do not take this effort lightly and we want to make a profound impact within the community - we just want to make sure we are doing it right, which is why we are taking the time to follow our first recipient's case through and develop policies in which service providers can request bail assistance for their clients and active members of the KCCBF can assess the requests based on such policies.
We also want to continue working on our advocacy for local, state, and federal policy change surrounding pretrial detention, money bail, and mass incarceration - specifically for the marginalized populations - people of color, people living in poverty, first-time offenders, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and young adults. We have done so by educating local organizations, agencies, and community members of the effects of pretrial detention - effects that impact not only those incarcerated but the taxpayers themselves who are often unaware or uninformed of the money bail system in our country and the cost (fiscal cost on the taxpayer and physical/mental/social cost of those directly impacted) of pretrial detention.
You can donate directly if you'd like, here.