“The Decarcerate Western MA Bailout Project is grateful to receive a grant from the Markham Nathan Fund in the amount of $4,000. We raise funds publicly to post bail for people held pretrial in Hampshire and Franklin counties and rely on funding from local foundations to cover any operational expenses. We will be using the funds from the Markham Nathan Fund to bolster our efforts to launch a participatory defense hub in Hampden County.
Led by families whose loved ones are facing charges, participatory defense is a community organizing model for people facing charges, their families, and communities to impact the outcome of criminal cases and transform the landscape of power in the court system. Participatory defense “evens the odds” and helps people with open cases and their loved ones claw back time from the legal system. We will use the funds to pay a stipend to a directly impacted community member to do outreach and recruit families to participate in the hub and help facilitate meetings. We will also use funds to cover operational expenses of this project and host events to spread the word on the harms of pretrial detention and the importance of community defense strategies.” Danielle
