Cincinnati Relief Fund

We have made a google form, linked below, for folks who are in need of community assistance whether that be financial, medical, or legal help after being incarcerated. We have been doing lots of research into prison and police abolition as well as the community organizing that is necessary for those things to happen. Our hope is to eventually partner with a local program led by black folks that are doing similar work, give them the remaining funds (after directly and equally distributing money to people), and begin collaborating with them on our organizational efforts. 

We started this fund out of urgency for those folks that were incarcerated while protesting, and quickly realized how little resources there are for anyone who has been released from this system.

We recognize the existence of similar programs like the Re-Entry program of Hamilton County, and the Second Chance Act, but reject the rhetoric and values that these government mandated organizations stand by. Recidivism, a term commonly used in the mission statements of these organizations, implies that a person who commits a crime is more likely to continue to commit crimes. The way this notion is discussed completely ignores the systemic racial and class issues that these very institutions were founded on.

While you continue to educate yourself and reach out to your local city council members about defunding the police, please consider how you are working to be a more active and helpful member of the communities you inhabit. These communities do not just mean your friends, internet mutuals, or the regulars at your neighborhood bar. These communities include the people you pass on the streets asking for money or food, the people who are or have been incarcerated, the families of those impacted by police brutality. Analyze for yourself how you interact and view these folks. Begin to arm yourself with resources for housing, food banks, rehabilitation centers, community funds. Read up on de-escalation tactics, harm reduction and community accountability processes. Discover for yourself which of these causes means the most to you; which of your skills and experiences will do the most help, and dedicate yourself to learning their histories inside and out.

Please reach out to us if you have any leads on local organizations led by black folks that would be interested in receiving the remaining funds and/or would be interested in working together.

Questions and comments are also welcome anytime.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

If you have recently been incarcerated in Cincinnati and need financial assistance you can add yourself to our list here in google forms: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJvL4DDohb3ZPxvWaU11t3cMbvoRaF8lSoMFlnz2LqQu4giA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1


For further inquiries, email us at [email redacted]