Resources: Regional Advocacy Organizations
PARC corresponds with and mails a directory of these resources to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are often the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.
Download a PDF copy of the 2018 Resource Guide.
| Resource | Category |
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Pennsylvania Prison Society The Pennsylvania Prison Society was founded in 1787 to fight the harsh corporal punishments of the day, and has continued to fight against mistreatment and warehousing of prisoners for the past 230 years. Their present advocacy includes promoting prison visiting, and the publishing of “Graterfriends,” a monthly publication that allows prisoners and residents to voice their opinions and concerns about criminal justice issues ($3.00 for an annual prisoner subscription). They also distribute several fact sheets, including the following pahphlets: Programs & Services Flyer (April 2016); Ban The Box (Feb 2016); Expungement (Feb 2016); Obamacare & Medicaid (July 2014); Prisoner Reentry Network (Spring 2014); The Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children; Incarcerated Women: The Whole Truth; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); and Prisoner Voting Rights (PA). Write for further information. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Pennsylvania |
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People’s Law Office The People’s Law Office fights for justice for people in Illinois who have been tortured or physically abused, wrongfully arrested or convicted, unfairly sentenced to death, or targeted as a result of their political beliefs or organizing efforts on behalf of movements struggling for justice and liberation. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Illinois |
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Prison Book Project The Prison Book Project currently sends around 10,000 books each year to indigent prisoners in Florida prisons, and serves approximately 2,600 prisoners each year. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Florida |
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Prison Creative Arts Project The Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) facilitates fine arts, creative writing, and theatre workshops in juvenile detention centers and prisons in Michigan. PCAP also organizes an annual art exhibit by Michigan prisoners, with all income going back to the artists. PCAP also publishes an annual journal of creative writing by Michigan prisoners. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Michigan |
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Prison Justice League The Prison Justice League (PJL) amplifies the voices of prisoners and their loved ones to end mass incarceration in Texas. They address the needs of prisoners in Texas, challenge institutions of punishment and hold them accountable for their actions, and serve as a voice for prisoners and the communities most affected by the criminal justice system. Texas prisoners can reach PJL by legal mail at: PJL, Special Legal Counsel Brian McGiverin, 2221 Hancock, Drive, Austin, TX 78756. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Texas |
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Prison Law Office The Prison law Office litigates and monitors class action lawsuits regarding medical care, mental health care, and disabled access for prisoners in California only. Also distributes self-help legal material on a number of topics. Write for list of available publications. Se habla Español. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, California |
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Prison University Project Prison University Project is a on-profit organization that supports the College Program at San Quentin State Prison, an associate's degree program Courses are taught by volunteers, most of them graduate students, instructors, and faculty members from San Francisco Bay Area colleges and universities. Associate's degrees are awarded by Patten University, with recent degree course offerings including Calculus, Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, English, and Composition. Nineteen courses are offered per semester, with most worth 3 credits; 60 credits are required for graduation. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, California |
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Prisoner Reentry Institute The Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice with the mission of supporting the successful reentry of justice-involved people back into communities. PRI regularly produces studies and publications made available for prisoners, including the Guide to Continuing Your Education after Prison. PRI also offers higher education to prisoners in New York, such as its "Prison to College pipeline" program which offers college classes at Otisville Correctional Facility, and runs the New York Justice Corps, a higher education prep and work readiness program for justice-involved youth. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, New York |
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Prisoner Reentry Network PRN is dedicated to promoting successful transitions from incarceration to the community, and is located in Oakland, CA. Write for their list of reentry resources. They also provide free copies of the Veterans Administration’s Guidebook for Incarcerated California Veterans. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, California |
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Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts Prisoners’ Legal Services provides legal representation and administrative advocacy in civil (non-criminal) matters related to prisoners’ treatment in Massachusetts prisons and jails, and upon release on parole. Only serves indigent or poor, current or former Mass prisoners in issues including inadquate medical or mental health care, assaults or violence by staff, unsafe or inhumane conditions in Mass jails or prisons, arbitrary use of isolation, and/or unfair denial or revocation of parole. |
Regional Advocacy Organizations, Massachusetts |