The U.S. justice system—which has one of the world’s highest incarceration rates—causes devastating harm to too many people. Incarceration destabilizes families, diminishes economic mobility, and traps millions in cycles of poverty and recidivism. And because the system disproportionately targets Black and Brown communities, it is a powerful driver of racial inequity.
The good news: many great nonprofits are working not just to help people ensnared in courts and prisons, but to fix the system itself. Each organization below is making a tangible difference in people’s daily lives and strengthening communities across the city. Please consider giving to them directly or through your donor-advised fund.
Helping People Get Out of the System and Advocate for Change
Freedom Agenda supports people who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system by helping them organize, advocate, and build leadership. It works to change harmful policies while supporting community-led solutions that reduce incarceration.
Women’s Community Justice Association advocates for mental and physical wellness, healing, safety, justice, and ending mass incarceration for women and gender-expansive people, including leading the campaign to close the notorious Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island. Its clients receive case management, counseling, housing support, and referrals that help them stabilize their lives and care for their families.
LONG ISLAND: Sound Justice Initiative provides college and employment preparation courses for incarcerated adults and young people on Long Island, ensuring educational continuity for justice-involved individuals in jail and returning to the community.
WESTCHESTER: Opportunity Youth Part (a project of the Center for Justice Innovation) connects young people facing misdemeanor or felony charges with behavioral health, academic, employment, and mentoring services. The program incorporates restorative justice in its approach, which helps young people build stable futures and avoid deeper system involvement.
Keeping Families Together
Family Justice Law Center brings impact litigation to challenge the illegal and unnecessary separation of families by the child welfare system and works to remedy the harms resulting from the dismantling of families.
Led by parents affected by the child welfare system, Rise organizes parents and trains them to become advocates. Through peer support programs and policy advocacy, it helps ensure parent voices shape our child welfare system and mobilize their communities for justice.
Providing Legal Help
Bronx Legal Services provides free legal help to low-income Bronx residents facing housing instability, benefits issues, and family law challenges. Its work helps tenants avoid eviction, secures access to vital public benefits, represents survivors of domestic violence, advocates for students with educational needs, and more.
Her Justice provides free legal services to women living in poverty, focusing on family law, immigration, and domestic violence cases. Volunteer attorneys help women get protection orders, secure child support, and achieve safety and independence for themselves and their children.
UnLocal is a community-centered nonprofit organization that provides direct immigration legal representation, community education, outreach, and advocacy for New York’s immigrants. It also operates the Pro Se Plus Project, which assists immigrants in representing themselves amid a systemic shortage of lawyers and accredited representatives across legal services providers.
This list is not exhaustive. There are many incredible nonprofits helping to make our region a better place for all; we seek to highlight a few that may not already be on your radar. Please reach out to our philanthropic advising department at advising@thenytrust.org if you are a donor seeking customized recommendations based on your charitable goals.
