Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement

Vision: EPOCA believes in grassroots mobilizing as a tool of systems change and organizing. From re-entry programs to engaging in fights for progressive policy change, EPOCA acts as a frontline leader in criminal justice policy and reform.

Impact: In 2013, EPOCA fought and won “Ban The Box.”  In 2017, EPOCA launched the Freedom Cities campaign with a call for people to meet with local law enforcement officials and request their positions on policies and rules that can block cooperation with anti-immigrant and anti-refugee political agendas. And recently, EPOCA successfully advocated for the Criminal Reform Justice (CRJ) Act Amendment Bill. The CRJ will help ex-offenders have a better chance at obtaining gainful employment and safe housing. The felony threshold was also changed in this bill from $250 to $1200.