Committees

Prison/Jail Branch Support Committee Charter

The PrisonJail Branch Support Committee works closely and directly with the members of our respective Prison Branch and the Regional Prison Coordinator. We build, cultivate, and maintain positive relationships between prison officials, Prison Branch members and members within the local Branch.

We actively solicit community organizations and businesses to establish a volunteer bank (teachers, writers, poets, business people, ministers, lawyers, policemen, judges, government officials, politicians, media personnel) to assist the Prison Branch in carrying out its programs, and aid the Prison Branch in organizing and planning parliamentary procedure workshops, leadership training sessions and other seminars. We also help the Prison Branch in planning and scheduling its annual awards banquet by contacting prospective guest speakers and making sure items needed for the ceremony are made available in a timely fashion.

Additionally, we meet with local business people, companies and corporations to discuss Targeted Job Tax Credit Programs and to persuade prospective employers to consider the advantages of hiring ex-offenders.  We encourage and facilitate employers to interview the inmate while still incarcerated. We interview all Prison Branch members when they are within 90-180 days of their parole hearings to assess what types of offender reentry programs may be most beneficial to them upon their release.

Finally, we maintain for two years a careful and accurate “follow up” file on those ex-offenders placed in jobs secured through the assistance of the NAACP. The purpose of these records will be to compare the NAACP recidivism rate to the national average (70%) and thus compute yearly savings in public tax dollars.

Working on the Prison/Jail Branch Support Committee

Meetings: We meet virtually once per month for an hour

Estimated Time Commitment: The commitment that we are looking for could be about 10-40 hours per month depending on the volunteer’s capacity.

Who We’re Looking For: We are looking for previously incarcerated and directly impacted individuals, as well as people who are open and willing to learn how to navigate the incarceration process.

Activities: We participate in ensuring that those incarcerated are treated with respect and dignity. As well as offer resources to their families while connecting with other community leaders to offer wrap-around services for families of those incarcerated.

Benefits of Working with Us: Committee members will play a part in changing lives, the laws, and the way that people are treated in the incarceration system. They will be the reason that future generations will not have to suffer the same type of harsh traumas that are inflicted on Men and Women in prison and jail currently. They will help bridge the gaps with families and restore the family setting to our communities.

A young man had been assaulted by deputies in the Hamilton County Justice Center and we were able to work with Sheriff McGuffey to eliminate a “One Punch for Pain” policy that the previous administration had in place.