Citizens Against Recidivism, Inc.

     Stopping the revolving door . . . .                                                                                                                                

     Neither imprisonment or the life after should mean the loss of all the rights and attributes of citizenship.

                                                            

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Photographs from:

Citizens' Fourth Annual Awards Program October 2010

Citizens Awards 2009

Citizens Awards 2008

Citizens Awards 2007

 

Characteristics of people in prison

2009

2008

NYS Parole Statistics

Parole 2008

Policy Recommendation to increase higher education Opportunities for people in prison

Citizens' Voter Registration Initiative

Re-entry Program

Muslim Reentry Initiative

Fact Sheet on Muslims in NYS prisons

Domestic violence is a crime

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Citizens' Founders       

Mika'il and Wanda DeVeaux         

 

About us

Citizens Against Recidivism, Inc. was founded in 1992 initially to address the needs of family members who had incarcerated loved ones.  The organization was incorporated in 1996, initially providing supportive counseling to the wives and family members of the incarcerated, cultural programming in various New York State prisons and delinquency intervention programming for youth.  The Internal Revenue Service determined that Citizens was exempt from Federal Income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

Mission

Citizens Against Recidivism, Inc. works to achieve the restoration of all the rights and attributes of citizenship among people in prison or jail and those who have been released in collaboration with other community and faith based organizations at each of the overlapping phases of the community integration process.

This work includes advocacy on all levels, preventive efforts targeting at-risk youth and  efforts to the strengthen individuals, families and personal relationships affected by experiences with the criminal justice system.

Vision

No person imprisoned or those released following confinement should lose the rights and attributes of citizenship.  Each sentence for a crime committed is a temporary measure aimed at meeting certain societal goals and must ultimately be aimed at reintegration into the community.  No person should be perpetually punished.

Values

We value life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.  Our work is predicated upon genuine care, concern and respect for those in prison, those at risk of incarceration and their families.  Our success is rooted in integrity, teamwork, faith, professionalism, creativity and the quality of our service.  We sincerely desire that those in prison not have their lives and minds permanently stained by crime or the criminal justice system, hoping that following encounters with the criminal justice system we may assist in their transformations and engaging the society in which we all live as productive citizens. 

The Key to Success 

Loss of citizenship rights . . . inhibits reformative efforts.  If . . . (we) are to reintegrate an offender into free society, the offender must retain all attributes of citizenship.  In addition, his respect for the law and the legal system may well depend, in some measure, on his ability to participate in that system.*

Citizens must be there to help formally incarcerated people take their places in society and with their families.  The assistance we give those who attempt to redeem themselves says something about all of us.  If we are required to punish, then we are required to make whole following its administration.
 

Delinquency Intervention Program

Citizens' delinquency intervention programming primarily focuses upon depicting for youth characteristics and behaviors that lead to juvenile arrest and confinement.

 

Muslim Re-Entry Initiative

Citizens host the Muslim Re-entry Initiative, an advocacy effort for Muslim involvement on issues related to the return of the formerly incarcerated Muslims.  This project is related to the 2006 Soros Justice Fellowship of our co-founder, Mika'il DeVeaux.

*Jeremy Travis, Invisible punishment: An instrument of social exclusion, in Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment, March Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, editors, The New Press, New York, 2002

 
*Data and information used for this summary were taken from the NYS Department of Correctional Services.  A detailed copy of the report entitled PROFILE OF POPULATION UNDER CUSTODY ON JANUARY 1, 2008, may be found at http://www.docs.state.ny.us/Research/Reports/2009/UnderCustody_Report_2009.pdf

 

Send mail to info@citizensinc.org with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 03/07/11