Our services are limited to Georgians (and Alabamians in select cities) who are impacted by the criminal legal system through arrest, probation and/or incarceration or detention.
Media Inquiries: To request an interview, please email waleisah@nlscoinc.org
Clients receive job & career readiness training in their job search journey: job search techniques, applications, resumes, cover letters, emails, social media, Zoom, interviewing, Google calendar, and dressing for success.
We partner with employers, workforce development and apprenticeship programs throughout Georgia to connect our clients to their open job and career opportunities. We ONLY partner with employers, workforce development and apprenticeship programs whose opportunities are open to individuals WITH felonies.
We regularly offer financial and credit wellness workshops and partner with local financial wellness organizations and banks to offer support to our clients with their financial goals on their path to self sufficiency and financial health and wellness.
Clients are provided easy paced training on how to be successfully engaged and skilled in how to navigate a virtual world as well as access critical technology needed for job searching: use computers, video conferencing services, creating email accounts, using Google calendars, creating social media and LinkedIn accounts.
By connecting our clients with housing providers, educational institutions, legal organizations, places of worship and community resource agencies, they are able to get the support they need to be whole and self-sufficient.
When funds are donated and are available, recently released individuals are able to receive assistance with the critical documents needed to gain employment, housing and enroll in school (IDs, birth certificates and bus passes) and clients with housing (or who are unsheltered) may be able to receive financial assistance with non rent housing needs such as utilities and groceries (including pet food).
Current Mutual Aid effort- Holiday Helping Hands. Applications are closed and assistance is being distrubuted the week of Dec. 4th-Dec. 6th.
We facilitate workshops and trainings that equip our clients with the skills needed to effectively communicate and be socially engaged in appropriate and professional ways:
To request a speaker or workshop facilitator, please email office@nlscoinc.org
Leadership & Entrepreneurship Development- Our leadership trainings equip participants with the tools needed to strategically and effectively transform and abolish oppressive carceral systems that focus on profit instead of people. These trainings equip attendees with the tools needed to develop and sharpen their leadership and community organizing skills, and equip them with the capacity to respond with agency to rise up and challenge the criminal justice system. Trainings are limited to individuals impacted by an arrest, conviction and/or incarceration because in order to get the change we seek, we need leaders who know first hand the systems and conditions in which we are working to transform or abolish.
Sister Rise Leadership Academy is an intensive 2 phased virtual 10 week paid online leadership training program for justice involved and formerly incarcerated women and girls (including trans women and girls). Applications open early 2024.
Although we do not participate in any lobbying activities or endorse candidates for public office, we do conduct grassroots organizing, advocacy (ending mass incarceration, abolishing oppressive carceral systems and procedures, jail/prison conditions and communications, family reunification, restoration of rights, economic justice and decriminalization) and civic engagement activities to educate and ignite our clients and the community on issues of public concern, particularly those that impact justice involved individuals and our families.
Therefore, we support local, state and national efforts as well as organizations that support grassroots organizing, advocacy and civic engagement efforts that identify and address issues of public concern and end oppressive systems that exploit and/or exclude individuals impacted by a criminal conviction which includes but is not limited to ending employment discrimination of people with criminal records (which contributes greatly to Georgia's high recidivism, unemployment, poverty and homelessness rates), advocating for fair chance hiring, housing and education opportunities for justice involved people, ending probation and parole and cash bail, advocating for common sense and rational sex offense laws and policies that protect society but also do not subject those forced to register as sex off***ers to public shaming, being dehumanized, discriminated against or have their constitutional rights violated, equity for formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs (who were often denied the PPP loans and are often denied bank and other business loans), ending slavery (prison slave labor that's exploited by way of the 13th amendment) and ending felony disenfranchisement to restore the vote to Georgians on probation and parole who are excluded from their rights as citizens according to the 14th amendment.
We conduct non-partisan activities that include, but are not limited to, the IRS approved activities for 501c3 charities such as hosting public education and training sessions about voter rights (particularly regarding voting with a felony), ID requirements, participation in the political process, hosting candidate forums/debates where ALL viable candidates are invited and given equal opportunity to speak on a broad range of issues, including those that relate to our mission, distributing voter guides to the public that give candidates’ views on a broad range of issues, educating ALL candidates on issues that impact those served by the mission of the organization and conducting nonpartisan get-out- the-vote and voter protection activities and education drives.
We also support and partner with local, state and national voter education organizations and #GOTV efforts, especially those focused on getting out the vote to marginalized communities, including citizens who are justice-impacted and those in rural and underserved communities.
We are NOT a 501c4, and therefore DO NOT directly or indirectly contribute to, participate in, intervene in, endorse or publicly support (written or verbal) any political campaign activities or candidates locally, statewide or federally nor do we distribute materials prepared by others that support or oppose any candidate for public office as prohibited under the Internal Revenue Code for 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.
Activities, we do and do NOT participate in can be found here.
Community forums and events are aimed at providing public education not only to those we serve but to the community at large on issues that impact justice-involved individuals and our families such as the barriers to reentry, criminal justice reform legislative updates, understanding your criminal record and how to clean it up, and much more!
We host events (and partner with key community stakeholders) that address issues that justice-involved people encounter while incarcerated and once released as well as issues that impact our communities such as collateral consequences, voting rights and restoration, expungement, employment, housing and education discriminaton, fair chance hiring and housing opportunities, homelessness and poverty and econominc exploitation such as prison slave labor.
Register for upcoming events and visit our YouTube page to see past events.
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