January is Human Trafficking Awareness & Prevention Month.
NAACP Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Annual Breakfast will be held at Monday Jan. 20th at 8am in the Well Center at U-Maine (Reservations needed).
Many people from our P&J community and abroad gathered together at Peirce Park and at REP. Golden's office for Trump Impeachment Rally a few weeks ago.
(This photo was taken by WABI)
We are so thankful to our members who have graciously donated after recieving the fall appeal letter. We still need everyone's help to reach our goal. We have been implementing important changes within the Center and we hope these changes will create monumental transformation for our greater community. Stay tuned! We are always looking for volunteers as well. Please shoot us an email if you have any questions or feedback concerning the fall appeal letter or volunteer inquiries. We appreacite you, and we look forward to every interaction with you!
We are excited to announce that our website has been updated. Please check the link below to view our new site!
Mass Incarceration Has Failed the People of Maine and the Nation.
Bigger Jails Don’t Solve Problems or Make Us Safer: A Call to Action
At this moment, more than 3 times as many people (per 100,000 residents) are incarcerated in Maine as in Canada. Five times more than in Norway. If Maine was a country, it would rank in the Top 10 of the world’s 195 nations with the most people incarcerated per 100,000 resident—in the company of Cuba, Rwanda and the Russian Federation. That’s the disturbing reality and it should be alarming to everyone.
In this New Year, those of us who care about Peace and Justice in Maine will have an opportunity to speak up for criminal justice reform and work to oppose a dramatic expansion of the Penobscot County Jail. As proposed, a bond issue of at least $65 million will be on the June ballot. It would enable the County to construct an enormous new facility adding cells and metal bunks for nearly 100 additional inmates.
The “No Penobscot County Jail Expansion” group has been formed by Mainers who believe we must address the problems that lead to incarceration--not simply expand capacity to hold more people. Mass incarceration has failed us in many ways. The waste in human potential and public resources has been substantial.
There’s a better way forward. Our group recognizes the need for a better, modern jail is Bangor, but not one that provides more space to cage people—the majority of whom are in “pretrial” status, meaning they’ve been convicted of nothing and are awaiting their day in court. Too many of these individuals can’t go home to keep their lives together and prepare an adequate defense, because they’re too poor or ill.
Your help is needed to make sure Peace and Justice are the priorities in 2020 when it comes to the criminal legal system in Maine. Whether you reside in Penobscot County or not, your voice and activism will be necessary to ensure the case is vigorously made for a just and hopeful vision of the future.
A large brick was thrown through the windows at 96 Harlow Street which is the location of the Peace And Justice Center. All members of the center and bystanders were unharmed and are safe.The brick traveled through both the outside panes of glass on the street and through an additional window pane in the front of the Peace And Justice Center. At this time, there are several events scheduled for the upcoming week. If all cleanup and security measures are complete, we’d like to encourage those planning to hold events at the center to please continue to do so. During these times, it’s important for us to continue to walk in solidarity and to not lose sight of both our organization’s mission but also our commitment to peace & Justice in the community.
