New Jersey Together to Celebrate Criminal Justice Reform Victory and Call for Statewide Action

New Jersey Together (NJT) to Celebrate Hudson County’s commitment to help incarcerated people clear fines, fees, warrants, etc – Calls for Statewide Expansion

Jersey City – Over 200 NJT clergy and community leaders from Hudson, Essex and Morris Counties (as well as other parts of the State) will gather on Wednesday, March 15th at 3 PM to celebrate Hudson County’s commitment to help incarcerated people address outstanding warrants, fines, fees, detainers, through petitioning the courts. The event will take place at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church located at 654 Ocean Ave Jersey City NJ. Parking is available at the venue.

The event will celebrate Hudson County Correctional Facility (HCCF), the Hudson County Prosecutor and Public Defender’s Office, and County Department of Housing and Community Reintegration’s efforts to help incarcerated individuals clear their outstanding fines, fees, warrants, and detainers. This move will significantly reduce the economic burden on people re-entering the community after incarceration, reduce the threat of re-incarceration after release, and reduce the amount of time people have to spend in court post-incarceration, which often interferes with a formerly incarcerated person’s efforts towards employment or reintegration.

New Jersey Together is a broad-based, multi-racial, cross-class, non-partisan network of over 50 congregations and not-for-profits in Hudson, Morris, and Essex Counties. The organization has helped leaders from its member organizations to successfully win over $1 Billion in Chromium Clean up and an additional $1 Billion in investments in housing, schools, neighborhoods, and more in their communities. NJT is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation’s oldest and largest community organizing network.

The initiative to address this issue started when members of New Jersey Together met with the leaders of the HCCF, the Hudson County Prosecutor and Public Defender’s Office and County Department of Housing and Community Reintegration, all of which are cooperating in this effort. Legislation will be needed to end all inappropriate fines and fees, but this collaborative approach creates a real opportunity for progress.

During the event, the organization will also ask for additional commitments to build on this success and reach out to statewide decision-makers, as well as leaders from Essex and Morris Counties, to implement the same program. The event will also report on conversations and efforts to get legislation passed that can address other unfair fines and fees.

To register for the event, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDPDrcPPBclqPpJmK7P0IxC7w_QG8FcolowPiYl1Q86fGecg/viewform.