American Reentry Initiative

We welcomed home our neighbors on Wednesday, November 4th, and what an amazing day it was! On this day alone, with your help, we provided food, clothes, coffee, rides, PPE and an overnight stay in a hotel and an Uber ride for a gentleman that missed his flight back to his family in Florida!

 With that, we've hit our first fundraising goal, THANK YOU! Now let's get to $5,000! 
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On October 19th, Governor Murphy signed legislation to free those trapped inside New Jersey jails, prisons, and halfway houses, where they face the worst COVID-19 outbreak of any prison system in the country. We anticipate that over 3,000 men and women within 8 months of their release date will gain relief from Public Health Emergency Credits, and will be released starting the first week of November.  

NJ Prison Justice Watch & American Reentry Initiative need all the help you can provide to ensure we meet the needs of returning citizens in this historic moment.

Here’s how you can help:

Support the General Fund
Help us respond to immediate needs and keep the program running by donating here to the initiative's general fund, from which we will purchase debit/gift cards, phone plans, PPE, transportation, identification, hotels, and the infrastructure needed to keep this program running. 

Donate Prepaid Debit & Gift Cards
Enable returning citizens to immediately get exactly what they need by donating either prepaid debit cards or gift cards to major retailers like Walmart, Target, ShopRite, NJ Transit, and more. 

Donate New or Used Cell Phones
Cell Phones are desperately needed to contact loved ones and access essential services as many offices are closed during the pandemic. We will accept new or gently used cell phones with chargers, as well as prepaid SIM cards. Fill out the form below.

Donate Goods and Services
If you are or know a business owner who could donate services like haircuts, financial planning, or medical care, or have access to a bulk surplus of PPE, toiletries, or other essential goods, we need you! Fill out the form below, and we will contact you about how to collect and distribute these to returning citizens.

Donate Your Time to the Cause
We need volunteers to make this historic effort happen! If you can volunteer on the Welcome Home Line, help us with donor outreach, serve as a distribution point, offer rides and transportation, and/or greet returning citizens at Transit Centers, we need you! Fill out the form below.

Fill out the support form here to indicate how you can help: bit.ly/NJWelcomeHomeDonorForm  

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.

We need your help in supporting our community members who are coming back home!
 
On October 19th, governor Murphy signed legislation to release eligible adult and juvenile prisoners with a year or less left on their sentences from New Jersey jails, prisons, and halfway houses, where they face the worst COVID-19 death rate of any prison system in the country. We anticipate that over 2,000 men and women within 8 months of their release date will gain relief from Public Health Emergency Credits, and will be released in the first week of November, with about 1,000 more to be released through January.  

All too often, people are released with little more than a bus ticket and what remains of their commissary account on a debit card. To succeed in their next steps, especially in a world that, this year, looks entirely different to the one they left, many individuals will need access to basic resources and services that the state will not provide them. 
 
NJ Prison Justice Watch (formerly known as NJ CAIC), a coalition of people with lived experience fighting for the dignity and human rights of currently and formerly incarcerated people, is partnering with the American Reentry Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to introduce the Welcome Home Initiative. Their goal is to coordinate the efforts of concerned citizens across the state to provide comprehensive support and services to every returning citizen in New Jersey.

In addition to launching the first state-wide Welcome Home hotline to help individuals navigate the services in their area, organizers are also developing a network of distribution partners across the state who can provide those recently released with the essential resources they need to start the next chapter of their life. 
 
We need all the help you can provide to ensure we meet the needs of returning citizens in this historic moment: a release on this scale has never been attempted in the state’s, and perhaps even the country’s, history, and its success will depend on the generosity of the community members willing to step up.

Our goal is to raise $2500. Please join the Hunterdon County Anti-Racism Coalition in showing up in solidarity to support our community members who are coming back home! Please consider contributing and sharing this campaign widely among your networks. #americanreentry #americanreentryinitiative #DecarcerateCOVID19 #SayTheirNames #getinvolved #welcomehomeinitiative #criminaljusticereform #blacklivesmatter #njpjw