Pennsylvania — Civil Society Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Voting from behind bars: Pa. allows many inmates to vote, but access varies by county

“In Pennsylvania, tens of thousands of people confined to county jails for non-violent offenses or who are awaiting trial are eligible to vote. Whether they do is an entirely different question. Currently, inmates confined to a county jail can apply for an absentee ballot by mailing an application to their county elections board. But advocates say the current mail-in absentee ballot process is difficult to navigate for anyone serving a jail sentence. And while the new voting reform package signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Wolf stands to make absentee voting even easier for the incarcerated, advocates say there needs to be follow through by county jail administrators.“

PA Post

November 5, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 5, 2019PA Post, PennsylvaniaComment

The Prison Portraits

“At first, his pencil-on-paper portraits of fellow prisoners were meant to be gifts they could give to their parents, wives and children. Eventually, Loughney realized that lining hundreds of them up on a wall would make for a dramatic comment on politics and policy.“

The Marshall Project

October 4, 2018

Personalism, Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesOctober 8, 2018The Marshall Project, PennsylvaniaComment

New Prison Reform Partnership Begins in Pennsylvania

“Over the next few years, Safe Streets & Second Chances will assist Goodwill and the DOC with research and data analysis as Pennsylvania changes its methods for rehabilitation and reentry. The agency will work with incarcerated individuals from the day they enter the prison system through the months following their release to prepare them for reentering society. That work includes job training, mental health support, substance abuse treatment and other programs that prepare individuals to live outside of prison and never return.“

Safe Streets & Second Chances

September 7, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 7, 2018Safe Streets and Second Chances, Pennsylvania, GoodwillComment

Why this couple's wedding registry was devoted to paying off Philly kids' court costs

"To Yalamanchi and He, fixing the systems that created these traps seemed a monumental challenge. But, taken individually, these were problems they could solve. So, they launched the Shift Fund, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that provides small — but hopefully life-changing — grants to people who are just a few hundred dollars away from getting their lives on track."

Philadelphia Inquirer

July 10, 2018

Civil Society Issues

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