Our WorkVoicesPolicy WinsPull Up a Chair
Movement · Since 2018

#People
Not
Cases.

We fight for the humans behind the numbers — rewriting sentencing laws, funding reentry, and putting formerly incarcerated voices where policy gets made.

Pull Up a ChairHear the Voices
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Woman smiling warmly, portrait taken with dignity and care
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Woman laughing with her daughter, genuine joy between them
Man in a community meeting, engaged and listening
Older man with a warm smile, hands folded with dignity
· #PeopleNotCases· End Mass Incarceration· #BringThemHome· Reentry Is a Right· #FamiliesFirst· Reform Starts Here· #HumanityFirst· Justice Begins at Home· #PeopleNotCases· End Mass Incarceration· #BringThemHome· Reentry Is a Right· #FamiliesFirst· Reform Starts Here· #HumanityFirst· Justice Begins at Home
Community Gallery

Pull up a chair. Let them tell you.

These are not case files. These are people who survived the worst the system could throw at them — and came back to fix it.

01
Darnell Okafor, a man in his 40s, looking directly at the camera with calm confidence, dressed in a button-up shirt
Testimony

Darnell Okafor

Formerly incarcerated, now paralegal · Baltimore, MD

"I served eleven years for a sentence that would be eight years under the law they passed after I went in. Nobody came back to fix that for the people already inside. That's not a clerical error — that's a choice."

80,000+

people currently serving sentences longer than today's law would require

Retroactive Sentencing Reform

When Congress or a state legislature reduces a sentence, the change rarely applies to people already incarcerated. Hearth's Retroactive Justice Campaign has pushed 11 states to pass retroactivity clauses — freeing 4,200 people and counting.

See the policy impact
02
Maria Elena Reyes, a Latina woman in her 50s, sitting at a kitchen table with warm afternoon light behind her
Family Voice

Maria Elena Reyes

Mother of two, reentry advocate · San Antonio, TX

"Every Sunday I drove four hours to visit my son. The phone calls were $1.65 a minute. I had to choose between keeping the lights on and hearing his voice. That choice should not exist in this country."

$1.65

per minute — the rate families in some states still pay for prison phone calls

Phone Rate Reform

The FCC capped interstate prison call rates in 2021 after years of advocacy. Hearth is currently challenging the 14 states that still allow predatory in-state rates, working with 200 family advocates to bring the fight to state legislatures.

See the policy impact
03
Reverend James Whitfield, an older Black man with reading glasses, smiling with quiet wisdom in a church hallway
Faith Leader

Rev. James Whitfield

Jail ministry coordinator · Detroit, MI

"I've been going inside for thirty-one years. The men and women I meet are not their worst day. Every single one of them has people waiting. Every single one of them has something left to give. The system forgets that. We don't."

68%

of people released without a single reentry plan, housing connection, or job referral

Reentry Infrastructure

Hearth's Day-One Reentry Program partners with 47 faith communities and 12 workforce development orgs to meet people at the gate — not six weeks later. Last year, 1,100 people walked out to a warm handoff instead of a cold sidewalk.

See the policy impact
Concrete Results

What happens when the room changes.

These aren't promises. They're laws on the books, people who came home early, and dollars that stayed in families instead of phone company accounts.

2024TX

Texas Retroactive Sentencing Act

After a 3-year campaign, Texas passed SB 1204 requiring automatic sentence review for anyone whose crime carries a reduced penalty under current law.

1,800people released early
2023Federal

FCC In-State Phone Rate Cap

Hearth's coalition filed the decisive amicus brief that pushed the FCC to extend federal rate caps to in-state prison calls.

$0.21per minute (was $1.65)
2023MI

Michigan Day-One Reentry Funding

Secured $4.2M in state budget allocation for immediate reentry support — housing, ID, and job placement — starting the day of release.

2,400warm handoffs last year
2022MD

Maryland Ban the Box — Private Sector

Extended Maryland's ban-the-box law to private employers with 15+ employees, removing the conviction question from initial job applications.

340Kjobs now accessible
2022IL

Illinois Voting Rights Restoration

Restored voting rights to 31,000 people on parole or probation in Illinois — the largest single restoration of voting rights in the state's history.

31,000votes restored

Full policy archive and legislative tracking available in the Annual Report →

The Table Is Set

Pull up a chair. You belong here.

Whether you're a public defender burning out at your desk, a mother calculating collect-call costs, a pastor running jail ministry, or a college student who just finished Just Mercy — this work needs you exactly as you are.

Join 47,000+ people building a different system

Get updates on legislation that affects your community

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Read the Policy Brief

24-page deep dive: The State of Reentry in America, 2025

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